South Dakota, 2009

Flooding in South Dakota, March 21 to 31, 2009

March 21 to 31, 2009 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Rapid snowmelt and ice jamming caused flooding on the James River from Columbia to Ashton. The James rose above flood stage on March 21st at Columbia and continued to rise downstream at Stratford and Ashton through March 23rd.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Rapid snowmelt and ice jamming caused flooding on the James River from Columbia to Ashton. The James rose above flood stage on March 21st at Columbia and continued to rise downstream at Stratford and Ashton through March 23rd. Flood stage is 13 feet at Columbia and Ashton and 14 feet at Stratford. The river rose to a record 19.56 feet at Columbia on March 27th, nearly 7 feet above flood stage. The James River continued to flood into April. Many roads, pastureland, agricultural land, along with parts of Columbia were flooded by the river.

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 21, 3:03 AM CST, 3 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 21, 3:03 AM CST, 3 hours 57 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Brown

When
March 21, 7:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Brown County, 1.23 mi SSE of Columbia to 3.06 mi E of Columbia
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
45.604, -98.310

Flood, Spink

When
March 21, 7:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Spink County, 1.12 mi E of Ashton to 0.75 mi ESE of Ashton
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
44.998, -98.477

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 160690, 160695.