South Dakota, 2010

Flooding in South Dakota, June 1 to 30, 2010

June 1 to 30, 2010 · NWS FSD · 7 events in 6 counties and zones

Flooding of the James River, which began in March from snowmelt, continued through June with the river rising again due to heavy rain. Moderate to major flooding was observed, with the river at Mitchell rising to its highest crest for the year.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 FSD wrote it up.

Flooding of the James River, which began in March from snowmelt, continued through June with the river rising again due to heavy rain. Moderate to major flooding was observed, with the river at Mitchell rising to its highest crest for the year.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 8:00 PM CST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 8:00 PM CST, 4 hours 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

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Beadle

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Beadle County, 3 mi E of Hitchcock to 9 mi S of Huron
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
44.630, -98.339

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. Several roads in Huron were closed, and a swimming pool was closed due to the river flooding the parking lot. The river crested at near 5.7 feet above flood stage at Huron, or about 3 feet below the March crest.

Flood, Sanborn

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Sanborn County, 10 mi N of Forestburg to 14 mi SE of Forestburg
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
44.165, -98.100

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. The river crested at near 6.5 feet above flood stage at Forestburg, which was a little more then half a foot below the March crest.

Flood, Davison

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Davison County, 8 mi NNW of Mitchell to 11 mi E of Mitchell
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.827, -98.081

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. The river crested at near 8.1 feet above flood stage at Mitchell, which was higher than the March crest.

Flood, Hanson

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hanson County, 1 mi N of Riverside to 9 mi S of Riverside
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
43.734, -97.950

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again.

Flood, Hutchinson

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hutchinson County, 6 mi NW of Milltown to 3 mi N of Clayton
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.481, -97.885

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. The river crested at around 6.5 feet above flood stage near Scotland, which was just slightly below the March crest.

Flood, Yankton

When
June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Yankton County, 9 mi NNW of Lesterville to 3 mi NW of Midway
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.150, -97.668

Moderate to major flooding of the James River was observed for most of the month. The river, which has been slowly falling before June, rose again due to heavy rain, and the number of fields and roads flooded increased again. The river crested at around 6.5 feet above flood stage near Scotland, which was just slightly below the March crest.

Flood, Davison

When
June 5, 6:00 AM CST to June 29, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Davison County, 5.41 mi WNW of Mt Vernon to 9.68 mi W of Mitchell
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.750, -98.350

Recurring heavy rainfall caused major flooding of Firesteel Creek from early June to just before the end of the month. The creek crested at 7.3 feet above flood stage near Mount Vernon on June 13th, or about three quarters of a foot below the record March crest.

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 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, June 2010

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: 246645, 246648, 246650, 246655, 246656, 246659, 246663.