Campus Alert Archive
SDSU

Two and a Half Days of Heavy Snow, 50 MPH Wind Gusts, and a Closed Campus: SDSU's Pre-Storm Closure Announcement Saturday Anticipated 8–14 Inches in Brookings

SDwinter stormadvisorymedium confidence

On Saturday, March 23, 2024, South Dakota State University announced its Brookings campus would close from 7 AM CDT Sunday through Monday night ahead of an early-spring winter storm that the National Weather Service forecasted would produce 8 to 14 inches of heavy snow and wind gusts up to 50 mph across central and southeastern South Dakota. The NWS Winter Storm Warning ran from 4 AM Sunday March 24 through 7 AM Tuesday March 26. With conditions deteriorating into Tuesday morning, the campus closure was extended through noon Tuesday, March 26 — a roughly 53-hour shutdown that canceled all classes, events, and administrative operations.

Alerts
2
Response
min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
South Dakota State University
Public R1 · SD
~11,500 studentsJackAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Dakota News Now reporting that quoted the SDSU emergency closure announcement205 chars
Due to the predicted winter storm, the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings will be closed from 7 a.m. Sunday through Monday night. All administrative offices, events and classes are canceled.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Pre-storm closure announcement issued Saturday March 23, 2024, ahead of the NWS Sioux Falls Winter Storm Warning that took effect at 4 AM CDT Sunday March 24.
Verbatim text reconstructed from Dakota News Now and the SDSU Collegian student-newspaper reporting; verbatim closure email/text was not preserved publicly.
Notably the initial announcement specified the closure would end Monday night — Tuesday's extension required a separate later notification.
The 53-hour shutdown is one of the longest single-storm campus closures in SDSU's recent history.
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Brookings Register reporting that the closure was extended through Tuesday noon181 chars
The SDSU campus in Brookings will remain closed until noon Tuesday, March 26 due to the continued winter storm. All administrative offices, events and classes are closed until noon.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Closure extension issued Monday evening or early Tuesday after the NWS Sioux Falls office extended the Winter Storm Warning through 7 AM Tuesday March 26, 2024.
Verbatim extension text reconstructed from Brookings Register and Dakota News Now reporting; the verbatim closure-extension communication was not preserved publicly.
The 12-hour extension (Monday night through Tuesday noon) lengthened the total shutdown from approximately 41 hours to approximately 53 hours.
Context

Background

On Saturday, March 23, 2024, South Dakota State University announced that its Brookings campus would be closed from 7 AM CDT Sunday March 24 through Monday night ahead of an early-spring winter storm that the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls forecasted would produce 8 to 14 inches of heavy snow with wind gusts up to 50 mph across central and southeastern South Dakota. The NWS Winter Storm Warning for Brookings County ran from 4 AM Sunday March 24 through 7 AM Tuesday March 26. With conditions still deteriorating Monday evening, SDSU extended the campus closure through noon Tuesday March 26 — a total shutdown of roughly 53 hours during which all classes, administrative offices, and events were canceled. The case is one of the longest single-storm SDSU campus closures in recent memory, and a useful counterpoint to the more common active-threat campus alerts in the archive: this is a planned, advisory-tier closure issued days ahead of impact under SDSU's Emergency Closings policy 10:7, not an emergency-notification push to seek shelter immediately. It also illustrates the operational difference between Plains-state campuses, which routinely close entirely for blizzards, and many Midwestern peers, which rarely close even during severe winter storms.
Analysis

Key Findings

SDSU's pre-storm closure announcement was issued more than 12 hours before the NWS Winter Storm Warning took effect — a planning-first approach more common at Plains-state campuses than at peers in the Midwest, Northeast, or South.
The 53-hour total shutdown (7 AM Sunday through noon Tuesday) is among the longest single-storm SDSU campus closures in recent history, requiring two separate closure communications as conditions worsened.
The case is an example of an advisory-tier closure under SDSU's Emergency Closings policy 10:7 — issued days ahead of impact, not a same-moment 'seek shelter immediately' emergency notification.
Outcome
The Brookings campus was closed from 7:00 AM CDT Sunday March 24 through noon CDT Tuesday March 26, 2024 — approximately 53 hours of complete shutdown. All administrative offices, events, and classes were canceled. The NWS Sioux Falls office documented heavy snow accumulations of 8 to 14 inches and wind gusts up to 50 mph across central and southeastern South Dakota during the storm. No campus injuries reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    SDSU campus closed Sunday & Monday due to weather (Dakota News Now)
    dakotanewsnow.com
  2. Report
    March 24-26, 2024 Early Spring Winter Storm (NWS Sioux Falls)
    weather.gov
  3. News
    Universities closed as winter storm approaches (Brookings Register)
    brookingsregister.com
  4. Student Paper
    SDSU campus to close Sunday, Monday for winter storm (The Collegian)
    sdsucollegian.com
  5. News
    SDSU campus closed Sunday/Monday due to weather (KELOLAND)
    keloland.com
  6. News
    South Dakota State to close Brookings campus Tuesday afternoon (Brookings Register)
    brookingsregister.com
  7. Official
    Policy 10:7 – Emergency Closings (South Dakota State University)
    sdstate.edu
  8. Official
    University Status (South Dakota State University)
    sdstate.edu
Tags
South DakotaSDSUSouth Dakota State Universitywinter-stormblizzardcampus-closureBrookingsadvisoryPlains-states
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion