Flash Flood in South Dakota, August 6, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in South Dakota, August 6, 2002
Start: 2002-08-06T01:30
End: 2002-08-06T02:15
Location: South Dakota

August 6, 2002 · NWS FSD · 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 7:35 PM CST, 5 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 7:35 PM CST, 5 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
835 PM CDT CDT MON AUG 5 2002

FORECAST IS NOT AS CLEAR CUT AS LAST NIGHT.  AT THE PRESENT TIME
...IM HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FINDING LIFT THAT WILL BE FOCUSED
OVR OUR CWA. LLJ SHIFTING WEST WHICH IS FAVORABLE FOR CONVECTION
OVER HIGH PLAINS BUT NOT US. HOWEVER..A FEW STORMS HAVE FIRED IN
KNOX COUNTY NE BUT HAVENT AMOUNTED TO MUCH. AFTER TALKING TO DMX
AND OAX...I PLAN ON CONTINUING FLASH FLOOD WATCH DUE TO RIPENESS
OF ATMS.  IF STORMS DO FIRE...THEY SHOULD RIDE RIDGE WHICH WOULD
BRING THEM INTO FSD CWA AND ATMS HAS PLENTY OF MOISTURE TO DROP.
ANY RAINFALL WITH PW VALUES WOULD EXCEED CURRENT FFLOOD GUIDANCE
PER AWIPS FMP IMAGES.

WILL UPDATE FORECAST TO REMOVE EVENING WORDING AND POLISH A FEW
MINOR ITEMS IN FORECAST.

.FSD...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT FOR ALL OF NW IA EXCEPT LYON CO. AND ALSO
FOR BON HOMME...YANKTON...CLAY AND UNION COUNTIES IN SD...DAKOTA AND
DIXON IN NE.

HEITKAMP

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Davison

When: August 6, 1:30 AM CST to 2:15 AM CST
Where: Davison County, Mitchell
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.675, -98.146 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous streets.

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

Every storm in South Dakota in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, August 2002

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: 5312458.