Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the South Dakota Weather Podcast — it's Thursday, February 26th. Step outside right now and that 16-degree bite will wake you up fast. But hold on.. Because by this afternoon, you'll be peeling off layers like it's April. We're talking a 40-degree temperature swing today. Clear skies and a gusty west wind push us into the mid-50s to near 60 degrees. That's 15 degrees warmer than normal for late February. Central South Dakota gets the strongest gusts — 30 miles an hour this afternoon. Combine that with bone-dry air and you've got high fire danger. Skip the burn pile today. Eastern South Dakota climbs to 56 degrees under wall-to-wall sunshine. West winds pick up to 25 miles an hour by midday. Tonight settles to 31 degrees with mostly clear skies. Western South Dakota wins the warm spot. Rapid City hit ...