A city paralyzed

Ten years ago, ‘Icepocalypse’ struck region to devastating effect

An unusual storm brought ice, wind and snow a decade ago. It sparked the largest recovery effort in Sioux Falls history. (Compliments of the City of Sioux Falls)

On the evening of April 9, 2013, Phil Schumacher stepped outside his home in Sioux Falls. The cracking he heard was alarming.

“I remember walking outside that evening around 7 o’clock and you could literally hear branches falling that night,” he recalled.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Throughout the city and region.

Schumacher, a meteorologist and science and operations officer for the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, knew better than anyone else what was happening. Sioux Falls was in the path of a historic storm.

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