Flood, Codington
- When
- March 16, 9:00 AM CST to March 29, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Codington County, 4.48 mi WNW of Rauville to 4.13 mi N of (Aty)watertown Arpt
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
- Reported by
- River/Stream Gage
- Coordinates
- 45.006, -97.164
Flood in South Dakota, March 16 to 29, 2009
Snowmelt and ice jamming caused minor flooding on the Big Sioux River northwest of Watertown. The Big Sioux River rose above and then fell below flood stage a couple times at gaging locations 3 miles northwest and 7 miles northwest of Watertown.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 happened
The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.
Snowmelt and ice jamming caused minor flooding on the Big Sioux River northwest of Watertown. The Big Sioux River rose above and then fell below flood stage a couple times at gaging locations 3 miles northwest and 7 miles northwest of Watertown. The river first rose above flood stage 3 miles northwest of Watertown on March 16th and on March 17th for 7 miles northwest of Watertown. The Big Sioux River went below flood stage at both locations by March 29th. The flood stages are 8 and 10 feet for the locations northwest of Watertown, respectively. The flooding was minor as the river rose only a tenth of a foot to almost 2 feet above flood stage. Some agricultural land along with few roads were flooded.
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 Mar 16, 2:43 AM CST, 6 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 2:43 AM CST, 6 hours 17 minutes before
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</html>The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, March 2009
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 160466.