Melting of a heavy winter snowpack caused flooding of the Redwood River in Lyon County.
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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.
Melting of a heavy winter snowpack caused flooding of the Redwood River in Lyon County.
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 Mar 16, 2:40 AM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 340 AM CDT TUE MAR 16 2010 .DISCUSSION... IN THE SHORTER TERM...WEAK S/W CONTS TO DROP STRAIGHT SWD THRU MN AND THE EXTREME ERN DKTS...BEFORE MOVG INTO IA AND ADJACENT AREAS THIS AFTN. THIS WAVE HAS NO DEEP MOISTURE TO WORK WITH...SO MEASURABLE PCPN IS EXPECTED NOT TO OCCUR. WHAT WL OCCUR THOUGH EARLY TODAY IS AREAS OF -DZ...PRIMARILY ALONG AND E OF THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. THIS A BIT SURPRISING GIVEN THE AREA SDNGS...IN THAT THE WIND SHEAR IS NOT ALL THAT GREAT NOR THE INSTABILITY. BUT NONETHELESS IT IS THERE...ALBEIT EXTREMELY LIGHT. OPTED TO NOT MENTION ANY -FZDZ EVEN THOUGH SOME TEMPS IN THIS FA WL DROP TO FREEZING OR EVEN JUST BLO. AM BANKING ON NOT ENOUGH DRIZZLE ACCUMULATION TO POSE PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF FREEZING. LIKE YESTERDAY...MAX TEMPS TODAY ARE A BIT OF CHALLENGE GIVEN THE DEGREE OF NLY FLOW. KEPT READINGS IN THE UPPER 30S IN THE FAVORED LOCATIONS THAT STRUGGLE WITH A NORTH WIND...SUCH AS SW MN AND THE BROOKINGS AREA. KHON MAY ALSO NOT HIT 40. THERE IS SO MUCH WET GROUND EVERYWHERE AT THIS POINT...REALLY DO NOT WANT TO GO VERY WILD WITH ANY DEGREE OF WARMING TODAY AS WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY. LASTLY TODAY...WE WILL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE CLEARING LINE WHICH IS TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THIS FA. IT IS NOT MOVG VERY FAST...BUT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE CLEARING WAS A BIT FUTHER ADVANCED THAN WHAT THE NAM H925 RH FIELD WAS SHOWING. THEREFORE HAVE SOME CLEARING SHOWING UP FIRST IN OUR SWRN FA...THEN EXPANDING SOME THRU OUR ENTIRE WRN FA AS THE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES. ELSEWHERE...IT COULD BE VERY TOUGH TO SEE ANY CLEARING. TONIGHT...THE S/W WHICH PASSES ACROSS OUR ERN FA TODAY...MOVES SWD AND TURNS INTO A BONAFIDE UPPER LOW. IT SHUD BE TOO FAR SOUTH AND EAST TO AFFECT OUR AREA. MOISTURE WISE...THE GFS IS MORE AGGRESSIVE IN ADVANCING THE CLEARING LINE EWD THAN THE NAM IS WHICH IS A SWITCH FM PREV RUNS. FOR NOW...OPTED TO COMPROMISE THE CLEARING BETWEEN THE TWO MODELS. OVERALL...STRATUS MAY HANG TOUGH ALONG AND SE OF CLOSE TO A SIOUX CITY TO WINDOM MN LINE. THEREFORE KEPT MIN TEMPS RATHER MILD IN OUR SE CORNER...AND KEPT THEM FAIRLY CHILLY IN OUR NWRN ZONES. THE OTHER CONCERN WITH ANY CLEARING AND WET GROUND IS RADIATIONAL FOG. MADE LITTLE IN THE WAY OF ALTERATIONS TO THE PATCHY FOG WHICH WE ALREADY HAD GOING...JUST BASICALLY FOLLOWING THE ANTICIPATED CLEARING LINE EWD...AND LINGERING SOME FOG OVER THE CLEARED AREAS INTO EARLY WED MORNING. ON WED...A SFC RIDGE PASSES OVER THIS AREA WHICH WL HELP TO SHIFT THE SFC WINDS TO A SW AND W DIRECTION. THE WINDS JUST OFF THE SFC ARE ALSO THIS DIRECTION...WHICH SHOULD HELP TO PUSH ANY REMAINING STRATUS OUT OF OUR SE. BECAUSE OF THE MID LVL RIDGE...WARMING H7 TEMPS ARE NOTED WHICH ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE INVERSION. SO DESPITE A FAVORABLE WIND DIRECTION...NOT MUCH MIXING WL TAKE PLACE SO KEPT OUR MAX TEMPS NOT TOO MUCH WARMER THAN THE FCST H925 TEMPS. WED NIGHT...KEPT OUR PATCHY FOG GOING IN OUR SERN QUARTER AHEAD OF THE ADVANCING CDFNT. THE SFC WINDS MAY GO LIGHTER THAN WHAT I HAVE CURRENTLY IN THE GRIDS AFTER MIDNIGHT FOR THOSE LOCATIONS. COUPLED WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...RADIATIONAL FOG COULD THEREFORE ONCE AGAIN OCCUR. THE CDFNT NUDGES INTO OUR WRN FA LATE WED NIGHT...THEN MOVES THRU THE ENTIRE FA ON THURSDAY. THE GFS WAS THE QUICKEST SOLUTION...WITH THE NAM/ECMWF/GEM PRETTY CLOSE. SO FOLLOWED THE LATTER THREE SOLUTIONS FOR TIMING. THERE IS STILL A GOOD INCREASE IN MOISTURE DEPTH ACROSS OUR NWRN ZONES BY THUR AFTERNOON...COUPLED WITH SOME FAIRLY STRONG H7 FRONTOGENESIS. THEREFORE SMALL POPS ARE STILL WARRANTED IN THAT AREA. MAX TEMPS ON THUR ARE DIFFICULT...IN THAT THE H925 TEMPS ARE STILL PRETTY MILD...BUT THE SFC FLOW IS SQUARELY OUT OF THE N OR NNW. AS WE HAVE SEEN LATELY...THIS WIND DIRECTION DOES NOT GIVE MANY AREAS IN OUR FA ANY FAVORS FOR WARMING. THEREFORE KEPT OUR NRN ZONES AND OUR SW CORNER IN THE 40S WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND THE WIND DIRECTION. THE SIOUX CITY TO STORM LAKE AREA MAY GET PRETTY MILD. FINALLY THURSDAY NIGHT THRU THE END OF THE WEEK...WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH A FAIRLY POTENT STORM SYSTEM MOVG THRU. THE GFS IS STILL A BIT OF AN OUTLIER COMPARED TO THE NAM/ECMWF/GEM...BUT NOT AS BAD AS YESTERDAY. THE SWEET SPOT FOR THE MOST PCPN STILL LOOKS TO BE IN NW IA WHERE THE SRN AND NRN STREAM BECOME PHASED...AND STRONG MID LVL FRONTOGENESIS/CONVERGENCE EXISTS. IN ADDITION...MUCH OF OUR FA IS STILL FIRMLY PLACED IN THE RR QUAD OF A JET STREAK TO OUR NE. THE ENTIRE THERMAL PROFILE BEGINS TO RAPIDLY COOL OFF LATE THUR NIGHT AND FRIDAY...WHICH IS BOTHERSOME. THIS FAR OUT...IT IS DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN IF THE PCPN WL BE RAIN OR SNOW. BUT THOUGHTS ARE IF IT PRECIPITATES HEAVY ENOUGH...LIKE IN THE SRN HALF OF OUR FA...THE MAIN PCPN TYPE WL BE SNOW ON FRIDAY. IN ADDITION WITH THE DEGREE OF COOLING NOTED FM H925 TO H85...TEMPERATRURES MAY STRUGGLE TO MOVE ON FRIDAY AND I HAVE THAT DRAWN INTO THE HOURLY TEMP FIELD. FINALLY... WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR INSTABILITY ON FRIDAY...AS BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW SOME WEAKLY STABLE AIR IN THE MID LVLS ABOVE THE STRONG H7 FRONTOGENESIS FIELD THRU THE SRN HALF OF OUR FA. /MJF && .AVIATION... LOWEST CONDS WILL CONT TO BE ERN EDGE OF FCST AREA IN SWRN MN/NWRN IA. IFR/LIFR CIGS WILL CONT THERE WITH VSBYS 1-3SM IN BR. AREAS VSBYS 1/2SM WILL CONT THRU 15Z THO WDSPRD VSBYS TO 1/4SM NOT EXPCTD. AFT 18Z SLOW IMPROVEMENT TO CIGS 5 HND-1K FT AND VSBYS ABV 5SM WITH THESE CIGS CONTG AFT 17/00Z THO SOME REDVLPMNT OF VSBYS 3-5SM IN BR PSBL. FRTHR W OVER SD CIGS MOSTLY 5 HND-1K FT...AREAS CIGS 1-2K FT WRN FCST AREA. AREAS VSBYS 3-5SM IN BR...LCL VSBYS BLO 3SM MAINLY FAR ERN SD. AFT 15Z VSBYS SHUD IMPROVE TO ABV 5SM AND CIGS WILL BCM GNLY 1-2K FT. AFT 21Z SKIES EXPECTED TO BCM CLR WRN EDGE FCST AREA HON/MHE/PKS AREAS. THIS CLEARING SHUD SPRD VERY SLWLY EWD AFT 17/00Z AS SUBSDNCE/LO LVL DRYING PROGRESS WITH UPPER RDGNG FROM THE NNW. /WILLIAMS && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. MN...NONE. NE...NONE. SD...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 451 AM CDT TUE MAR 16 2010 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-171200- 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- 451 AM CDT TUE MAR 16 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT FLOODING... FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG THE JAMES RIVER...VERMILLION RIVER...BIG SIOUX AND LITTLE SIOUX RIVERS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. IN ADDITION...FLOODING WILL OCCUR ON MANY TRIBUTARIES LEADING INTO THESE MAIN STEM RIVERS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THIS AREA PRIMARILY IN THE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING TIME FRAME. IT DOES APPEAR THAT THE AIR...BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT...MAY BE COLD ENOUGH TO PRODUCE ACCUMULATING SNOW FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING. BECAUSE OF THE BORDERLINE TEMPERATURES...IT IS VERY DIFFICULT AT THIS TIME TO ASCERTAIN HOW MUCH SNOW MAY ACCUMULATE. THE BEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL LIKELY BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE I 90 CORRIDOR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SIOUXFALLS. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Rapid melting of a heavy winter snowpack caused flooding of the Redwood River, with mainly farmland affected. The river crested at 2.8 feet above flood stage at Marshall and 1.65 feet above flood stage at Russell.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, March 2010
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: 222617.