South Dakota, 2001

Flash Flood in South Dakota, July 16, 2001

July 16, 2001 · NWS ABR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 15, 7:40 PM CST, 6 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 7:40 PM CST, 6 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
840 PM CDT SUN JUL 15 2001

WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CLEARLY SHOWS NEXT MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE LOCATED
FROM EASTERN MT SOUTH INTO SW SD AND WESTERN NE. AHEAD OF THIS WAVE
CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED MAINLY ACROSS NW SD...BUT SOME ISOLATED
ACTIVITY HAS BEEN NOTED OVER PARTS OF WESTERN NE INTO SW SD. EVNG
UPPER AIR SHOWED A PWAT OF ABOUT 1.5 INCHES AT ABR WHILE EARLIER
GOES SOUNDINGS SHOWED 1.5 TO 2 INCHES ACROSS CENTRAL SD. SOME DEW
POINT POOLING WAS NOTED EARLIER ACROSS FAR NORTHERN SD. STORMS
YESTERDAY AND LAST NIGHT PRODUCED FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES OF RAIN...
ESTIMATED FROM WSR-88DS...ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL SD AND ADDITIONAL
RAINS THIS EVNG HAVE LEAD TO SOME MINOR FLOODING IN CORSON COUNTY.
HIGH WBZ HEIGHTS AND LITTLE SHEAR HAS REDUCED LIKELIHOOD OF SEVERE
WEATHER WITH THESE STORMS...BUT HEAVY RAIN STILL POSSIBLE WITH ANY
STORMS THAT DEVELOP. AS THE SHORT WAVE MOVES INTO THE REGION WE
SHOULD SEE LOWER LVL FLOW BACK ENOUGH TO DRAW MORE LOW/MID LVL MSTR
INTO THE REGION...MAINLY THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE STATE.

GIVEN PREVIOUS DAYS RAINS AND POSSIBILITY OF STORMS REDEVELOPING
ACROSS CENTRAL SD WILL MAINTAIN FFA THROUGH THE EARLY MRNG HOURS FOR
CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL SD. WILL NEED TO UPDATE ZONES TO CHANGE
TIMING FOR EASTERN CONVECTION TONIGHT AS IT APPEARS I#T WILL BE LATER
AND WILL BACK OFF HEAVY RAIN WORDING EAST.

.ABR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ZONES 003>005...009...010...015>017
       ...033>037...045...048...051.

FAUCETTE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 16, 1:59 AM CST, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN, SD
259 AM CDT MON JUL 16 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0155 AM    1/4 SOUTH MCLAUGHLIN      SD   .75 INCH HAIL
07/16/01   CORSON                         REPORTED BY
SPOTTERS

0238 AM    POLLOCK                   SD   .75 INCH HAIL
07/16/01   CAMPBELL                       REPORTED BY CO-OP
                                          OBSERVERS

SK

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Corson

When
July 16, 2:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Corson County, North Central Portion
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Very heavy rains of 3 to 7 inches fell across north central Corson county causing flash flooding. Oak creek along with several other streams washed out several roads and damaged some fences from Watauga to McIntosh to McLaughlin and north. Travel was stopped for awhile on the Highway north of McLaughlin.

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

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, July 2001

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5261565.