South Dakota, 2020

Flood in South Dakota, March 1 to 31, 2020

March 1 to 31, 2020 · NWS ABR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Snowmelt runoff brought rises on the James River across Brown county from Columbia to Stratford. This runoff allowed the James river to continue its streak of consecutive days above flood stage.

Where it happened

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  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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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.

Snowmelt runoff brought rises on the James River across Brown county from Columbia to Stratford. This runoff allowed the James river to continue its streak of consecutive days above flood stage. Both gauging locations were approaching a year above flood stage with Stratford ending March at 363 days above flood stage and Columbia ending March at 364 days. Some agricultural land along with several roads remained flooded.

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 29, 5:29 PM CST, 6 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 29, 5:29 PM CST, 6 hours 31 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

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Brown

When
March 1, 12:00 AM CST to March 31, 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 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, March 2020

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: 882650.