South Dakota, 2002

Drought in South Dakota, June 1 to 30, 2002

June 1 to 30, 2002 · NWS ABR · 26 events in 26 counties and zones

After a dry winter and spring, below normal rainfall for June brought severe drought conditions to the area. Much of the rainfall for June was below 50 percent of normal with much of the area receiving 20 to 40 percent of the normal rainfall.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 26 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
26

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 ABR wrote it up.

After a dry winter and spring, below normal rainfall for June brought severe drought conditions to the area. Much of the rainfall for June was below 50 percent of normal with much of the area receiving 20 to 40 percent of the normal rainfall. Some locations were at 10 to 15 percent of normal rainfall. Central and north central South Dakota were the hardest hit with the drought conditions. As a result of the severe dryness, alot of grazing land and stock ponds dried up and ranchers had to either buy additional feed for their animals, transport them to healthier pastureland for grazing, or sell their herds prematurely. CRP land was opened up to ranchers for haying and livestock grazing. Feed supplies and hay supplies were running short and water had to be hauled to alot of cattle. Crops suffered with much having to be cut up for hay or replanted. The crops that did make it have a low harvest potential. Water levels on lakes and rivers were also way down. Burn bans and voluntary or mandatory water restrictions were implemented across much of the area. All counties were declared drought disasters.

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 May 31, 2:45 PM CST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:45 PM CST, 9 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/N-EAST SD AND W-CENTRAL MN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
345 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2002

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL CONTINUE TO BE PROSPECTS FOR CONVECTION
SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY...AND ALSO TEMPERATURES SATURDAY
AFTERNOON.  MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT THROUGH 48 HOURS ALTHOUGH
DIFFER SOMEWHAT IN EVOLUTION OF MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE NORTHWEST OF
CWA SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY.  HOWEVER...EVOLUTION OF LARGER SCALE
PACIFIC WAVE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK IS HANDLED IN SIMILAR FASHION BY
THESE MODELS.  MAIN OUTLIER MODEL CONTINUES TO BE SLOWER AND CLOSED
ECMWF SOLUTION.

LITTLE CONCERNS FOR THIS EVENING WITH AVN AND ETA BOTH IN GENERAL
AGREEMENT IN TAKING WEAK MID LEVEL WAVE NORTH OF CWA ACROSS
NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST MANITOBA.  SURFACE PRESSURE
ANALYSIS SHOWS REFLECTION OF MID LEVEL WAVE WITH SLP TROUGH ACROSS
NORTH DAKOTA.  SOME CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM NOTED IN
PAST FEW HOURS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA.  DRY AIR ADVECTION
SHOULD HINDER ANY PRECIPITATION CHANCES ACROSS NORTHERN CWA...SO
WILL KEEP TONIGHT DRY ACROSS ENTIRE CWA.  ONLY CONCERN FOR TONIGHT
IS HOW FAST SURFACE DEW POINTS DROP ACROSS NORTHWEST CWA.  MESOETA
AND RUC SHOWING FAIRLY STRONG SURFACE DEW POINT GRADIENT APPROACHING
WESTERN CWA.  WILL GO FOR LOWEST OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES IN THIS AREA
IN THE LOWER 50S.

FOR TOMORROW...UPPER PV ANOMALY ACROSS SOUTHWEST US EJECTS
NORTHEASTWARD DOWNSTREAM OF LARGER SCALE UPPER TROUGH AXIS IN THE
PACIFIC.  BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON...BEGIN TO SEE MID LEVEL SIGNATURE
OF UPPER ANOMALY ACROSS MONTANA/WYOMING WITH 700 HPA TROUGH
DEVELOPING.  GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT ON 310K SURFACE NOTED BY LATE
EVENING ACROSS MOST OF CWA.  FAIRLY GOOD MAGNITUDE TO LOW LEVEL JET
ALSO...WHICH WILL ENHANCE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE.  ALSO SOME UPPER
LEVEL DIVERGENCE NOTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH BROAD RIGHT ENTRANCE
REGION OF UPPER JET.  RETURN OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE COMBINED WITH THE
ABOVE FACTORS SHOULD ALLOW FOR GOOD CHANCE OF FAIRLY WIDESPREAD
CONVECTION LATE SATURDAY NIGHT.  BY SUNDAY STRONGEST LOW AND MID
LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS AXIS MOVES NORTH OF CWA.  ETA AND AVN HAVE BOTH
TRENDED A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH WITH POSITIONING OF SLP MINIMUM AND
FEEL THAT MOST WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL OCCUR NORTH OF CWA ON
SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING.  HOWEVER...SECONDARY UPPER SPEED MAX AND
WEAK UPPER DIVERGENCE DOWNSTREAM OF LARGER SCALE TROUGH AXIS RESULTS
IN AN INVERTED SLP TROUGH AXIS ACROSS CWA IN BOTH ETA AND AVN
SOLUTION.  WITH LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL KEEP CONVECTIVE
CHANCES GOING THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON.  WILL KEEP MONDAY DRY
AS CYCLOGENESIS WITH MAIN PACIFIC SHORT WAVE SHOULD OCCUR ACROSS
CENTRAL PLAINS...KEEPING MAIN LOW LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS AND ISENTROPIC
LIFT SOUTH OF CWA.

NDM

.EXTENDED DISCUSSION...

GENERALLY KEPT ON A COURSE SIMILAR TO THE AVN.  OTHER MODELS
EXCEPTING ECMWF ARE LEANING TOWARD A LITTLE MORE PROGRESSION OF
POSITIVELY TILTED ROCKIES TROF.  HOWEVER THAT SAID THE AVN BOTH 00Z
AND 12Z RUN MIGHT STILL BE A TAD FAST.  POSITIVE TILT NATURE OF
UPPER TROF SUGGESTS THAT MAIN SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN WELL
SOUTH OF CWA.  WILL THEREFORE KEEP TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TIME
PERIOD DRY. NOT REALLY CONFIDENT ABOUT DETAILS FOR FRIDAY BUT AT
THIS TIME WILL LEAN TOWARD CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AS NEXT
UPPER TROF IS PROGGED ACROSS THE ROCKIES AND INTO THE PLAINS.
MOSTLY BASED TEMPS OFF AVN 8H TEMPS AND MEX GUIDANCE.

TDK

.ABR...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

26 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Corson

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Corson forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Dewey

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dewey forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.157, -100.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Stanley

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Stanley forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Jones

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Jones forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
43.961, -100.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lyman

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Lyman forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hughes

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hughes forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sully

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Sully forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Potter

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Walworth

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Campbell

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Campbell forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, McPherson

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
McPherson forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Edmunds

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Faulk

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Faulk forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hyde

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hyde forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hand

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hand forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.548, -99.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Buffalo

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.076, -99.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Brown

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Spink

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Spink forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Marshall

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Day

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Day forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Clark

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Roberts

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Codington

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Codington forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hamlin

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hamlin forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.674, -97.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Grant

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Deuel

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Deuel forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, June 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: 5306231, 5306232, 5306233, 5306234, 5306235, 5306236, 5306237, 5306238, 5306339, 5306340, 5306341, 5306342, 5306343, 5306344, 5306345, 5306346, 5306347, 5306348, 5306349, 5306350, 5306351, 5306352, 5306353, 5306354, 5306355, 5306356.