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Prairie Coteau

Waubay, Bitter Lake, Enemy Swim and the Sisseton hills. The deepest pothole country in the state and the first ground to hold birds down out of North Dakota.

6.3

Moderate Movement

Moderate Movement

Moderate confidence↑ +0.7 last 24hMallards 6.6

Green-winged Teal score, conditions as of Mon, Nov 2, 3:00 PM

Prairie Coteau

5.8

Falling 9° vs yesterday

Legal light 6:41 AMSunrise 7:11 AMSunset 5:15 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM19NNW · 46°
6AM20NNW · 45°
7AM19NNW · 45°
8AM19NNW · 45°
9AM19NNW · 45°
10AM20NNW · 44°
11AM21NNW · 44°
7.6Decoy score · WorkableWorking wind: 20 mph through the morning · Low overcast keeps birds low and honest · Gusts to 37: decoys will look wrong on open water

Best window: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning

Temperatures falling about 16°F over the next 48 hours

  • Drier than normal: water is patchy

Season dates · High Plains October 10, 2026 to January 14, 2027. Low Plains North and Middle zones September 26 to December 8, 2026. Low Plains South Zone October 24, 2026 to January 5, 2027.

Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with SD Game, Fish and Parks.

Sheet water: OpenPotholes and sloughs: OpenReservoirs and river: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last 6 days, counting the next 2 at half (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Drier than normal: water is patchy (52% of South Dakota in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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  • Temperatures falling about 16°F over the next 48 hours
  • Northwest winds building to 21 mph
  • Corn harvest roughly 81% complete, heavy field feed available

Good

Temperatures falling about 16°F over the next 48 hours. Northwest winds building to 21 mph. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.

Green-winged Teal
6.3Mon25.8Tue3

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.

Cold front / temp trend18% weight
7.8

Temps falling ~16°F into the next 48h

Wind direction + speed16% weight
9.8

NW winds to 21 mph across 47 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region18% weight
1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream11% weight
1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding11% weight
8.6

52% of the state in drought: water is patchier than normal

Season timing16% weight
7.0

Inside the prime migration window

Crop harvest / field feed9% weight
8.8

Corn ~81%, beans ~97% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports0% weight
5.0

No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted

Pro

The freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.

Pro

Last night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.

58°Fnow
WSW 7 mphwind
↓ 14°next 24h, falling
DayHi / LoWindSnow
MonNov 260° / 53°SSE 19 mph
TueNov 353° / 41°NNW 21 mph
WedNov 444° / 38°NNW 21 mph
ThuNov 548° / 35°N 12 mph
FriNov 648° / 32°S 7 mph
SatNov 750° / 38°WNW 23 mph
SunNov 843° / 35°NNW 22 mph
Pro

What other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.