Minor to moderate flooding of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers resulted from heavy rains, with lowlands including some farmland flooded.
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 FSD wrote it up.
Minor to moderate flooding of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers resulted from heavy rains, with lowlands including some farmland flooded.
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 Jun 14, 3:00 AM CST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 400 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 .DISCUSSION... WANING ELEVATED BOUNDARY CONTINUING TO PRODUCE A LINE OF SCATTERED SHOWERS VERY EARLY THIS MORNING FROM NEAR BRIDGEWATER TO DELL RAPIDS TO TRACY. MORE SIGNIFICANT SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX TRACKING ALONG THE SOUTH DAKOTA/NEBRASKA NEAR TYNDALL...AND PUSHING TO THE EAST. QUESTION BECOMES WHERE THIS COMPLEX WILL END UP THIS MORNING...WITH THE HRRR MODEL ONCE AGAIN HANDLING THE CONVECTION POORLY. IF IT HOLDS TOGETHER...AT ITS CURRENT RATE OF SPEED IT WILL TRACK ACROSS OUR NORTHWESTERN IOWA ZONES BETWEEN 12Z AND 14Z THIS MORNING. WITH THE EXIT OF THIS FEATURE...THINK THERE WILL BE A GENERAL BREAK IN ACTIVITY UNTIL LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON WHEN REDEVELOPMENT WILL OCCUR IN OUR WEST WITH THE APPROACH OF A MORE SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. CURRENT OBS/SATELLITE INDICATING AN AREA OF STRATUS OVER MUCH OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY WARNING AREA...AND MODEL RH FIELDS INDICATING THAT THE STRATUS WILL HOLD OVER MUCH OF THE CWA THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY...THOUGH MAY BREAK IN THE WEST BY AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PLAY A PART IN KEEPING THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS AT BAY. MARGINAL CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS WILL OCCUR OVER OUR SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA ZONES...WHERE MUCAPE VALUES PER BUFKIT SOUNDINGS ARE PROGGED TO BE AROUND 2000 J/KG BY AFTERNOON...THOUGH EFFECTIVE SHEAR VALUES ARE FAIRLY LOW...SO THINK THAT A SEVERE STORM WOULD BE ISOLATED IF IT OCCURS AT ALL. EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO REMAIN IN CHECK...GENERALLY RUNNING FROM NEAR 3 TENTHS TO AROUND HALF AN INCH FOR THE PERIOD OF TODAY/TONIGHT...WHICH WILL REMAIN BELOW FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE...EVEN IN AREAS THAT RECEIVED SO MUCH RAIN ON MONDAY. IF RAINFALL AMOUNTS WOULD COME IN HIGHER THAN FORECASTED...WOULD NEED TO WATCH FOR FLASH FLOODING THROUGH THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY WHERE THE STATIONARY BAND SET UP YESTERDAY. WITH THE CLOUDS AND AN EASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW...HIGHS WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL WITH UPPER 60S TO NEAR 70 EAST TO LOWER/MID 70S WEST AND FAR SOUTH. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA FROM WEST TO EAST TONIGHT...EXITING OUR EAST ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AS THE UPPER WAVE PUSHES INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST. BEHIND THE EXITING WAVE...NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL PICK UP ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WITH CLEARING SKIES AND BETTER MIXING...HIGHS EXPECTED TO MAKE IT INTO THE MID 70S NORTHEAST TO AROUND 80 THROUGH THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY INTO THE MISSOURI RIVER CORRIDOR. THURSDAY WILL BE MAINLY DRY AND WARMER AS UPPER LEVEL RIDING BUILDS INTO THE REGION. DID THROW SOME SLIGHT POPS IN ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER CORRIDOR WITH INCREASING MOISTURE TRANSPORT/INSTABILITY ON A DEVELOPING LOW LEVEL IN CONJUNCTION WITH A WEAK MIDLEVEL WAVE TRACKING ACROSS THE REGION. HIGHS ON THURSDAY LOOKING TO BE IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. A BETTER WAVE EMBEDDED IN THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE PUSHES INTO THE AREA ON FRIDAY...WITH SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS. /JM && .AVIATION... CLUSTER OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ALONG SD/NE BORDER WILL TRACK EAST INTO NORTHWEST IOWA EARLY THIS MORNING. GREATEST TSRA THREAT SHOULD REMAIN BETWEEN KFSD AND KSUX TAF LOCATIONS...THOUGH CANNOT RULE OUT BRIEF TSRA AT EITHER LOCATION THROUGH 14/12Z. AN UPPER LEVEL WAVE WILL BRING CHANCES FOR ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON/TONIGHT. TIMING/LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...BUT APPEARS MOST LIKELY IN THE JAMES VALLEY 14/20Z-15/03Z...INTO THE I-29 CORRIDOR 14/23Z-15/06Z...AND IN FAR EASTERN PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA 15/04Z-15/12Z. /JH && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. MN...NONE. NE...NONE. SD...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 458 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-151200- 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- 458 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING IN AREAS GENERALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 90. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...AND THEN PUSH TO THE EAST THROUGH TONIGHT. WHILE THERE COULD BE AN ISOLATED MARGINALLY SEVERE STORM OVER THE WESTERN JAMES RIVER VALLEY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON...THESE STORMS ARE GENERALLY NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. FLOODING... RECORD HIGH RELEASES ARE OCCURRING FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER RESERVOIRS AND WILL CONTINUE INTO MID SUMMER. HIGH WATER LEVELS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS BETWEEN CHAMBERLAIN AND SIOUX CITY. THE LITTLE SIOUX RIVER NEAR LINN GROVE WILL REMAIN NEAR FLOOD STAGE THROUGH THE WEEK. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL MOST LIKELY 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.
5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Moderate flooding of the Little Sioux River resulted from runoff caused by heavy rain. Lowlands including some farmland along the river were flooded. The river crested at 3.0 feet above flood stage near Milford on June 21st.
Minor to moderate flooding of the Little Sioux River resulted from runoff caused by heavy rain. Lowlands including some farmland along the river were flooded. The river crested at 3.9 feet above flood stage at Spencer on June 23rd.
Minor to moderate flooding of the Ocheyedan River resulted from runoff caused by heavy rain. Lowlands and a few roads near the river were flooded. The river crested at 2.0 feet above flood stage near Spencer on June 23rd.
Minor to moderate flooding of the Little Sioux River resulted from runoff caused by heavy rain. Lowlands including some farmland along the river were flooded. The river crested at 3.9 feet above flood stage at Linn Grove on June 27th.
Minor to moderate flooding of the Little Sioux River resulted from runoff caused by heavy rain. Lowlands including some farmland along the river were flooded. The river crested at 3.9 feet above flood stage at Cherokee on June 27th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, June 2011
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: 327460, 327464, 327471, 327472, 327474.