Flash Flood, Pennington
- When
- May 30, 4:40 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Pennington County, 7 mi S of Rapid City
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in South Dakota, May 30, 1996
A SLOW MOVING SUPERCEL DUMPED 3-6 INCHES OF RAIN ON SATURATED GROUND CAUSING FLASH FLOODING AT THE INTERSECTION OF SPRING CREEK AND HIGHWAY 79 SOUTH OF RAPID CITY. 2-3 FEET OF WATER COVERED THE HIGHWAY 79 BRIDGE AT SPRING CREEK.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS UNR wrote it up.
A SLOW MOVING SUPERCEL DUMPED 3-6 INCHES OF RAIN ON SATURATED GROUND CAUSING FLASH FLOODING AT THE INTERSECTION OF SPRING CREEK AND HIGHWAY 79 SOUTH OF RAPID CITY. 2-3 FEET OF WATER COVERED THE HIGHWAY 79 BRIDGE AT SPRING CREEK. HART RANCH CAMPGROUND AND SOME HOMES NEAR THE CREEK HAD TO BE EVACUATED.
The radar
The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 13 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:37 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Colorado, May 30, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, May 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 30, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 30, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, May 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 30, 1996
- Cold in New York, May 30, 1996
- Cold in Pennsylvania, May 30, 1996
- Hail in Texas, May 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 30, 1996
- Hail in Texas, May 30, 1996
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, May 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5554822.