South Dakota, 2017

Flooding in South Dakota, February 21 to 28, 2017

February 21 to 28, 2017 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Snow melt runoff caused the James River near Columbia to go above the flood stage of 13 feet on the 21st. 74 feet on February 24th.

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

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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.

Snow melt runoff caused the James River near Columbia to go above the flood stage of 13 feet on the 21st. The river reached a high point of 15.74 feet on February 24th. The river continued to flood into March. Lowland flooding was the main impact.

The Maple River near Frederick also went into minor flood stage for a few days rising to nearly a foot above the flood stage of 10 feet from the 21st to the 23rd.

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 Feb 21, 12:07 PM CST, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 12:07 PM CST, 8 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 21, 4:52 AM CST, 7 hours 23 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
February 21, 12:15 PM CST to February 23, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Brown County, 2.68 mi ENE of Winship to 3.37 mi ENE of Winship
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
45.934, -98.468

Flood, Brown

When
February 21, 5:30 PM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Brown County, 4.82 mi NW of Hecla to 2.83 mi NNE of Hecla
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
45.930, -98.220

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 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, February 2017

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: 689073, 689058.