Heavy rain falling on snow remaining from from the previous week's blizzard caused flooding over northwestern South Dakota, the northern Black Hills, and the northern foothills. 50 inches of rain falling over the northern Black Hills.
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 UNR wrote it up.
Heavy rain falling on snow remaining from from the previous week's blizzard caused flooding over northwestern South Dakota, the northern Black Hills, and the northern foothills. Rainfall amounts on the plains were 0.75 to 1.00 inches, with 1.00 to 2.50 inches of rain falling over the northern Black Hills. The water content of the snow was two to five inches.
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 Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 1:25 AM MST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
225 AM MDT TUE MAY 6 2008
.DISCUSSION...CURRENT SURFACE MAP SHOWS WEAK LOW ACROSS
MONTANA/WYOMING. SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING IN COVERAGE ACROSS
WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA IN AREA OF MID LEVEL THETA-E ADVECTION. THESE
SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST THROUGH THIS
MORNING. UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA WILL MOVE INTO
NORTH DAKOTA LATER TODAY. SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHWEST
SOUTH DAKOTA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH COLD FRONT SLIDING INTO
SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW SBCAPE OF
1500-2000 J/KG ALONG AND AHEAD OF COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...WITH
SUFFICIENT SHEAR FOR A FEW SUPERCELLS. SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY
SHIFTS EAST THIS EVENING.
NEXT UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE CROSSES THE NORTHERN PLAINS LATE
WEDNESDAY/WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WITH STRENGTH OF 700-500 Q-VECTOR
CONVERGENCE AND ISENTROPIC LIFT...HAVE INCREASED POPS.
EXTENDED...WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL SWING THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS
ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...BRINGING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN SLIGHTLY BELOW
AVERAGE. AN UPPER RIDGE WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS FOR
SUNDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS AND NEAR
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES EXPECTED.
&&
.AVIATION...ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE MORNING WITH
LCL MVFR CIGS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...MAINLY EAST
OF THE BLACK HILLS.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW RISES AT THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS. THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER AT CAMP CROOK HAS RISEN
ABOUT 5 FEET IN THE LAST 24 HOURS...AND IS WITHIN 3 FEET OF FLOOD
STAGE. LATEST FORECAST HAS STAGE CRESTING JUST BELOW FLOOD STAGE
THIS AFTERNOON. WILL LET FLOOD WATCH FOR BUTTE COUNTY EXPIRE...AND
CONTINUE WITH WATCH FOR HARDING AND NORTHERN HILLS/FOOTHILLS.
&&
.UNR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT FOR NORTHERN BLACK
HILLS-NORTHERN FOOT HILLS-STURGIS/PIEDMONT FOOT HILLS.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR HARDING.
WY...NONE.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 257 PM MDT MON MAY 5 2008 SDZ001-002-012>014-024>032-041>044-046-047-049-072>074-WYZ054>058- 071-061300- BENNETT-BUTTE-CENTRAL BLACK HILLS-CUSTER CO PLAINS-FALL RIVER-HAAKON- HARDING-HERMOSA FOOT HILLS-JACKSON-MELLETTE-NORTHEASTERN CROOK- NORTHERN BLACK HILLS-NORTHERN CAMPBELL-NORTHERN FOOT HILLS- NORTHERN MEADE CO PLAINS-PENNINGTON CO PLAINS-PERKINS-RAPID CITY- SHANNON-SOUTHERN BLACK HILLS-SOUTHERN CAMPBELL-SOUTHERN FOOT HILLS- SOUTHERN MEADE CO PLAINS-STURGIS/PIEDMONT FOOT HILLS-TODD-TRIPP- WESTERN CROOK-WESTON-WYOMING BLACK HILLS-ZIEBACH- 257 PM MDT (357 PM CDT) MON MAY 5 2008 ...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS REGION THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... ...FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF FAR NORTHEASTERN WYOMING AND FAR NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEASTERN WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE AS THE SNOW PACK FROM THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS THROUGH FAR NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA CONTINUES TO MELT. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 90 ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA. SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. AT THIS TIME...THE BEST CHANCE FOR ANY WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER LOOKS TO REMAIN SOUTH AND EAST OF OUR AREA. CREEKS AND STREAMS ACROSS THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS THROUGH FAR NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA WILL CONTINUE TO RISE THIS WEEK...WITH SOME MINOR FLOODING POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along Elk Creek, Bear Butte Creek, Spearfish Creek, False Bottom Creek, Whitewood Creek, and their tributaries. Streets on the east side of Spearfish were flooded. Flooding was also reported at Brownsville and the Tomahawk Golf Course south of Deadwood.
Low water crossings and some side streets were flooded from heavy rain, melting snow, and high flows along Bear Butte Creek. Several secondary roads in Sturgis were closed.
The Little Missouri River at Camp Crook crested at 14.11 feet, above the flood stage of 12.0 feet. Minor flooding of agricultural land was reported.
Minor flooding occurred along the South Fork of the Moreau River, the Belle Fourche River, Hay Creek, Willow Creek, Frog Creek, Indian Creek, and their tributaries.
Minor flooding occurred along the South Fork of the Grand River, the North Fork of the Moreau River, the South Fork of the Moreau River, Sand Creek, and their tributaries.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, May 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: 102898, 102970, 102884, 102893, 102889.