1970: Extremely cold air was over the area on this day in weather history in 1970. After an extremely cold night, daytime high temperatures struggled to reach the single digits below zero. Overnight low temperatures across the area were from 25 below to 34 below zero with daytime highs from 3 above at Sisseton to 12 degrees below zero at Pierre. Record low temperatures were set at Wheaton, Watertown, Pierre, and Kennebec. The temperature fell to 32 degrees below zero at Pierre, 33 degrees below zero at Watertown and Wheaton, and to 34 degrees zero at Kennebec. Aberdeen fell to 35 degrees below zero, Sisseton fell to 26 degrees below zero, Mobridge fell to 25 degrees below zero, Sisseton fell to 26 degrees below zero, and Timber Lake fell to 27 degrees below zero.
1862: The Great Flood of 1862 inundated much of the western United States west of the Rockies. California was hardest hit, with two to three feet of rain falling in about four weeks' time. Some locations received more than their normal annual rainfall between Christmas 1861 and the end of January 1862. The flooding was catastrophic, and one modern researcher has called it a 30,000-year flood event.
1893: The temperature jumped 42 degrees in 15 minutes at Fort Assiniboine, MT (near Havre), rising from -5 to 37.
1977: Snowflakes were observed at Homestead and Miami Beach in extreme southern Florida.
2002: The AFC 2001 divisional playoff game was played during a heavy snowstorm, pitting the Oakland Raiders against the New England Patriots. With less than two minutes left to play, the Patriots were trailing 13-10. New England QB Tom Brady dropped back to pass but dropped the ball after being hit by Oakland's Charles Woodson. The play was originally ruled a fumble, but that call was reversed upon review and was instead declared an incomplete forward pass because Brady lost the ball as he was attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Possession then went to New England, who went on to kick a field goal to send the game into overtime. New England ended up winning 16-13 on another field goal, and eventually went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI. The game has come to be known as the Tuck Rule Game.