South Dakota, 2020

Flood in South Dakota, March 8 to 31, 2020

March 8 to 31, 2020 · NWS ABR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Snowmelt runoff brought the James River at Ashton and Redfield above flood stage early in March. The James River at Redfield went above flood stage on March 11th and then fell back below flood stage on March 17th.

Where it happened

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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 the James River at Ashton and Redfield above flood stage early in March. The James River at Redfield went above flood stage on March 11th and then fell back below flood stage on March 17th. At Ashton, the James River went above flood stage on March 8th and remained above through the end of the month. The river at Ashton rose above the flood stage of 13 feet to major flood stage of 18 feet on March 15th. Some roads along with agricultural land were 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 Mar 8, 2:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 2:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 8, 2:19 AM CST, 1 hour 41 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, Spink

When
March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Spink County, 3 mi ENE of Duxbury to 3.59 mi NNW of Brentford
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
45.240, -98.440

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: 882656.