Heavy rain caused moderate to major flooding along the Big Sioux River bordering Sioux and Plymouth Counties from June 5th to June 16th. The flooding affected mainly farmland.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.
Heavy rain caused moderate to major flooding along the Big Sioux River bordering Sioux and Plymouth Counties from June 5th to June 16th. The flooding affected mainly farmland.
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 Jun 5, 2:25 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 325 PM CDT THU JUN 5 2008 .DISCUSSION... INTERESTING SET UP TODAY WITH 987 MB SURFACE LOW JUST TO THE EAST OF HILL CITY KANSAS. STRONGLY SHEARED ENVIRONMENT WITH STRONG UPPER LEVEL WAVE MOVING OUT OF THE FOUR CORNERS REGIONS INTO THE WESTERN PLAINS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. 12Z KTOP SOUNDING SHOWS STRONG CAP WITH +15 C AIR AT 700 MB. FURTHER TO THE NORTH AT KOAX...ATMOSPHERE APPEARS TO BE MUCH MORE WORKED OVER WITH THE WARM AIR ALOFT NOT NEARLY AS PROMINENT. STRONG SPEED AND DIRECTIONAL SHEAR NOTED ON BOTH SOUNDINGS. SEVERAL SURFACE BOUNDARIES ACROSS NEBRASKA BEGINNING TO WORK OFF TO THE NORTH. MAIN WARM FRONT IS SITUATED JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE KANSAS/NEBRASKA BORDER...WHILE A SECONDARY WARM FRONT IS SITUATED ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. CONVECTION HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY OVER THE LAST HOUR...WHICH IS NOT CAPTURED BY THE MODELS WELL AT ALL. EFFECTS FROM THIS CONVECTION WILL LIKELY PLAY A ROLE IN HOW SEVERE WEATHER SCENARIO PLAYS OUT TODAY. HAVE GONE WITH THE IDEA THAT WARM FRONT WILL MAKE IT INTO SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF FORECAST AREA...EXTENDING FROM KYKN-KSPW. EXPECT THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TO BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY...WITH STORMS REMAINING ELEVATED TO THE NORTH. EXPECT GREATEST THREAT TO BE ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA WHERE SKIES HAVE PARTIALLY CLEARED OUT ALLOWING ATMOSPHERE TO DESTABILIZE. AS LONG AS ATMOSPHERE IS ABLE TO DESTABILIZE SUFFICIENTLY THAT STORMS WILL NOT BE SHEARED APART...SHOULD SEE SURFACE BASED SUPERCELL STORMS REDEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THAT CONGEAL WITH TIME INTO A SQUALLINE. WITH STRONG WINDS ALOFT...COULD SEE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT DAMAGING WIND EVENT ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS ELEVATED DRY PUNCH MOVES INTO CENTRAL NEBRASKA. 0-6 KM WINDS INDICATE STORM MOTION WOULD BE AROUND 190 AT 48 KNOTS...WHILE RIGHT MOVING SUPERCELLS WOULD MOVE AROUND 200 AT 45 KNOTS. WITH GROUND ALREADY SATURATED FROM RECENT RAINS AND 3/HR FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE VARYING FROM 0.6 TO 3.0 INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...ELECTED TO ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 18Z TO 06Z TONIGHT. UPPER LEVEL LOW WRAPS UP AND MOVES NORTH ON FRIDAY AND A FEW SHOWERS WILL BE LIKELY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 90 ION THE MORNING. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE AND CLOUDS WILL DECREASE SOME THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON...SO OTHER THAN BREEZY...IT SHOULD BE A MILD BUT SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL DAY. BY SATURDAY...STRONG JET STREAK OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS SHOULD SET UP A DECENT RIGHT REAR QUAD AND HELP SUPPORT AN INCOMING MID LEVEL FRONT. WILL CONTINUE MID TO HIGH RANGE POPS THROUGH THE PERIOD. IN THE LATTER PERIODS(MON-THU)...AN ACTIVE PATTERN LOOKS TO CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT WEEK AS A MEAN TROF REMAINS OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. RIGHT NOW...MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING LOOKS LIKE THE BEST SHOT FOR ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES. SO OVERALL...OFF AND ON CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURES LIKELY BELOW NORMAL. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE NORTH ALONG AND WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER THIS MORNING. A SECOND ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE THIS AFTERNOON PRODUCING HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES BEFORE EVOLVING INTO A DAMAGING WIND EVENT. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. NE...NONE. && BT/08
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 422 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-061200- AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA- CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE- DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON- IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN- LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN- OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN- SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON- 422 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS... STORMS WILL REDEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND MOVE INTO SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF A TYNDALL SOUTH DAKOTA TO SPENCER IOWA LINE. THESE STORMS WILL GRADUALLY COMBINE INTO A SQUALL LINE PRODUCING A SIGNIFICANT WIND EVENT ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA. HAIL TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. FLOODING... THE LITTLE SIOUX RIVER FROM AROUND SPENCER TO LINN GROVE IS EXPECTED TO CREST AT OR JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY LATE THIS WEEK. MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING IS EXPECTED ALONG PORTIONS OF THE VERMILLION RIVER THE NEXT FEW DAY. RAINS FROM THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...WHICH COULD BE CAUSE FOR CONTINUED OR ADDITIONAL FLOODING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE VERY HEAVY RAINS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...PRODUCING AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAINFALL FOR MANY LOCATIONS. THIS COULD CREATE SOME LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING ISSUES AS WELL AS INCREASE THE THREAT OF ADDITIONAL FLOODING ON CREEKS...STREAMS AND RIVERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THROUGH TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/FSD. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
644 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0617 PM TSTM WND DMG MITCHELL 43.73N 98.03W
06/05/2008 DAVISON SD LAW ENFORCEMENT
SOME TREES DOWN
&&
LIEBLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
645 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0617 PM FLASH FLOOD MITCHELL 43.73N 98.03W
06/05/2008 DAVISON SD LAW ENFORCEMENT
STREET FLOODING
0617 PM FLASH FLOOD MITCHELL 43.73N 98.03W
06/05/2008 DAVISON SD LAW ENFORCEMENT
STREET FLOODING IN MITCHELL
&&
LIEBLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
648 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0644 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 E DELMONT 43.27N 98.14W
06/05/2008 DOUGLAS SD EMERGENCY MNGR
WATER OVER THE ROAD
&&
LIEBLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
653 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0644 PM FLASH FLOOD 11 ESE LAKE ANDES 43.09N 98.33W
06/05/2008 CHARLES MIX SD EMERGENCY MNGR
1/2 MILE SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 50 AND 281 JUNCTION WATER OVER
THE ROAD
&&
LIEBLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
656 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0650 PM FLASH FLOOD PARKSTON 43.39N 97.99W
06/05/2008 HUTCHINSON SD LAW ENFORCEMENT
MAJOR STREET FLOODING
&&
LIEBLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
657 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM FLASH FLOOD ETHAN 43.55N 97.98W
06/05/2008 DAVISON SD TRAINED SPOTTER
BASEMENT FLOODING
&&
LIEBLThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain caused moderate to major flooding along the Big Sioux River. Extensive flooding of farmland and flooding of some county roads was reported. The amount of damage to crops and to farmland from erosion was not known. The river crested at Hawarden at 20.6 feet, or 5.6 feet above flood stage.
Heavy rain caused moderate to major flooding of the Big Sioux River. Extensive flooding of farmland and flooding of a few county roads was reported. The amount of damage to crops and to farmland from erosion was not known. The river crested at Akron at 20.22 feet, or 4.22 feet above flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, June 2008
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: 120305, 120312.