Flood in South Dakota, March 22 to 31, 2020

Name: Flood in South Dakota, March 22 to 31, 2020
Start: 2020-03-22T04:00
End: 2020-03-31T23:59
Location: South Dakota

March 22 to 31, 2020 · NWS FSD · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A more or less ideal melt of the snowpack with 4 to 6 inches liquid equivalent further upstream produced some minor flooding in the upper reaches of the Big Sioux river.

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: 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 FSD wrote it up.

A more or less ideal melt of the snowpack with 4 to 6 inches liquid equivalent further upstream produced some minor flooding in the upper reaches of the Big Sioux river.

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 Mar 21, 5:30 PM CST, 10 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 21, 5:30 PM CST, 10 hours 30 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 21, 2:54 PM CST, 13 hours 6 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, Brookings

When: March 22, 4:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Brookings County, 8.56 mi NNW of Bruce to 7.62 mi W of Bruce
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: River/Stream Gage
Coordinates: 44.540, -96.960

The Big Sioux River near Bruce (gage site BRCS2) returned to flood late month. The river crested 0.78 feet above flood stage on March 30, following the addition of rainfall of 0.33 inches 4 miles northeast of Bruce and 0.29 inches at Bruce. Minor agricultural flooding near the river was the greatest impact. The river remained at minor flood stage at the end of the month.

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 2020 Every state in 2020 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 875536.