Flood in South Dakota, May 22 to 28, 2019

Name: Flood in South Dakota, May 22 to 28, 2019
Start: 2019-05-22T10:30
End: 2019-05-28T19:30
Location: South Dakota

May 22 to 28, 2019 · NWS ABR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rainfall caused the Bad River to go above and below the flood stage of 21 feet a couple times at the end of May. 8 feet with the second flooding period from the 28th through the 29th.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

Heavy rainfall caused the Bad River to go above and below the flood stage of 21 feet a couple times at the end of May. The first rise and fall was from the 22nd to the 23rd to 21.8 feet with the second flooding period from the 28th through the 29th. The flood stage is 21 feet.

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 May 22, 5:18 AM CST, 5 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 5:18 AM CST, 5 hours 12 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
618 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019

.SHORT TERM...(Today through Thursday Afternoon)
Issued at 340 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019

The very short term looks to calm down a bit over the next day or
so. Strong system currently entering southeast South Dakota will
continue to move north and east and fill as the day progresses. As
that occurs, winds will diminish, and waa band of pcpn will have
rotated mostly out of the cwa by noon. However, sct pcpn will remain
possible through the day as the upper low shears across the region.
With plenty of clouds around today, temperatures will only slightly
recover from Tuesday's levels.

For tonight and most of Thursday, sfc high pressure builds south
over the area. This should bring a reduction in clouds, but perhaps
not complete clearing. Light winds settle in over the region tnt,
but probably will be offset some by clouds, so didn't tank
temperatures, especially over the James valley.  With some sun,
the mercury should recover some on Thursday afternoon.

.LONG TERM...(Thursday Evening through Tuesday)
Issued at 340 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019

Next wave of low pressure moves northeast across the area Thursday
night into Friday morning, with more rainfall almost a certainty
once again over a widespread area. This system will be moving
through quicker than the current one over us, so expect amounts to
be generally less than an inch. Friday is shaping up to be an
interesting day, as initially, we'll still be dealing with clouds
and precip in the morning, especially over the northern CWA. But, by
afternoon, models are in good agreement in bringing a surge of dry
air into the region as southwest winds and strong warm air advection
take over. Clouds should depart rapidly to the north throughout the
day. This sets the stage for a decent warmup by afternoon, with
highs in the 60s to low 70s. In fact, would not be surprised if
forecast highs come up a few degrees over the next few forecast
shifts. Saturday still appears to be a dry day for right now as
surface high pressure moves across the area. The pattern continues
to be active as we head into early next week, with another decent
looking system moving in Monday night into Tuesday.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Thursday Morning)
Issued at 616 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019

A mix of IFR/MVFR cigs is expected through today at all terminals.
Vsbys may occasionally dip into the 3-5sm range during rain
showers today.

&&

.ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...None.
MN...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...TDK
LONG TERM...TMT
AVIATION...TDK

Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 2:16 AM CST, 8 hours 14 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
316 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-230830-
Traverse-Big Stone-Corson-Campbell-McPherson-Brown-Marshall-Roberts-
Walworth-Edmunds-Day-Dewey-Potter-Faulk-Spink-Clark-Codington-Grant-
Hamlin-Deuel-Stanley-Sully-Hughes-Hyde-Hand-Jones-Lyman-Buffalo-
316 AM CDT Wed May 22 2019 /216 AM MDT Wed May 22 2019/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for west central Minnesota,
central South Dakota, north central South Dakota and northeast
South Dakota.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Occasional showers and thunderstorms are possible through the
upcoming weekend. Currently no severe weather is expected during
that time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 7:03 AM CST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
803 AM CDT WED MAY 22 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0803 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CHELSEA                 45.17N 98.74W
05/22/2019  M1.65 INCH       FAULK              SD   PUBLIC

&&

DYE

Local storm report, May 22, 7:55 AM CST, 2 hours 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
855 AM CDT WED MAY 22 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0855 AM     HEAVY RAIN       PIERRE                  44.37N 100.32W
05/22/2019  M1.54 INCH       HUGHES             SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

DYE

Local storm report, May 22, 7:57 AM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
857 AM CDT WED MAY 22 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0857 AM     HEAVY RAIN       MURDO                   43.89N 100.71W
05/22/2019  M1.98 INCH       JONES              SD   CO-OP OBSERVER

&&

DYE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Hughes

When: May 22, 10:30 AM CST to May 28, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 26.2 mi WSW of Pierre to 18.9 mi SW of Pierre
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: River/Stream Gage
Coordinates: 44.170, -100.780

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

Every storm in South Dakota in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, May 2019

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 826868.