Has it really been a year? If you drive through heavily wooded areas around Sioux Falls even today, you can still see the remnants of the worst storm in recent history for our city.

On April 9, 2013 a massive ice storm blanketed Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas. People woke to the sound of tree branches cracking, power outages and unbelievable damage. It was followed by six inches of snow April 10, effectively finishing the job of destruction that the ice storm started.

In the end, Sioux Falls declared a state of emergency. An estimated 115,000 residents were without power. Some were without power for a week.

Operation Timber Strike went in to effect in the city as branch drop off sites were opened all over town, arborists were everywhere, and a multitude of tree removal companies descended on the city.

The clean up of the city literally took months. I remember driving through town with some friends from Nashville about a week or so after the storm had hit. I took them down residential streets where HUGE piles of branches sat on the boulevards waiting for pick up. The city looked like a tornado had swept through, except it covered the entire city and beyond. A Facebook page was started the day of the storm to let people 'bond' during and after the crisis and post pictures of what they were experiencing.

The estimated cost to the city from the storm one year ago $9 million. But the city survived. Power was restored, the city was cleaned up and a year later, we're expecting sunshine and a high pushing 80 degrees! Let's just hope we never have to go through another storm like we did one year ago today.

This video was shot around McKennan Park in Sioux Falls, though it could have been pretty much anywhere in a 30 mile radius around the city.

 

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