Flood, Aurora
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Aurora forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.718, -98.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in South Dakota, April 1 to 30, 1997
Snowmelt flooding continued from March. Major flooding occurred on rivers and streams, including record flooding along the James River.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 24 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
- 24
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 FSD wrote it up.
Snowmelt flooding continued from March. Major flooding occurred on rivers and streams, including record flooding along the James River. Crests on the James and Big Sioux Rivers occurred from April 3rd through April 9th. Flooding also occurred on lakes and lowlands. Many roads were covered and damaged by the flooding, hampering transportation. Many homes and other buildings were flooded, and basements flooded from groundwater seepage. Farmland affected by the flooding continued to be in the hundreds of thousands of acres. Communities severely affected by the flooding included Davis, Spencer, Dell Rapids, Baltic, and Renner. The magnitude of damage was estimated to be many millions of dollars, but more specific estimates were not available because of the long term economic nature of much of the damage, especially to farmland.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
24 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Beadle
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Beadle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.415, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Bon Homme
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Bon Homme forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.988, -97.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Brookings
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Brookings forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -96.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Brule
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Brule forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.718, -99.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Charles Mix
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Charles Mix forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.208, -98.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Clay
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.915, -96.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Davison
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Davison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -98.146 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Douglas
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.387, -98.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Gregory
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Gregory forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.192, -99.186 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Hanson
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Hanson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -97.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Hutchinson
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Hutchinson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.335, -97.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Jerauld
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Jerauld forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.066, -98.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Kingsbury
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Kingsbury forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -97.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Lake
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -97.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Lincoln
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, McCook
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- McCook forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -97.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Miner
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Miner forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -97.610 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Minnehaha
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Minnehaha forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -96.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Moody
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Moody forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -96.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Sanborn
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Sanborn forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.023, -98.091 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Turner
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Turner forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.311, -97.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Union
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Yankton
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Yankton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.009, -97.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, April 1, 1997
- High Wind in North Carolina, April 1, 1997
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Rhode Island, April 1, 1997
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Connecticut, April 1, 1997
- Flooding in Louisiana, April 1 to 20, 1997
- Flooding in Iowa, April 1 to 10, 1997
- Winter Storm and Hail in Kansas, April 1 to 29, 1997
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in New Jersey, April 1, 1997
- Cold in West Virginia, April 1 to 30, 1997
- Cold in North Carolina, April 1 to 18, 1997
- Flooding in South Dakota, April 1 to 30, 1997
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, April 1997
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5605444, 5605445, 5605446, 5605447, 5605448, 5605449, 5605450, 5605451, 5605452, 5605453, 5605454, 5605455, 5605456, 5605457, 5605458, 5605459, 5605460, 5605461, 5605462, 5605463, 5605464, 5605465, 5605466, 5605467.