South Dakota, 2025

Flood in South Dakota, September 18 to 20, 2025

September 18 to 20, 2025 · NWS FSD · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Elevated river levels through the upper and portions of the middle Big Sioux River Basin continued into September. A couple of different heavy rain events again pushed isolated stretches of the river into Minor flood stage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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  • 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 FSD wrote it up.

Elevated river levels through the upper and portions of the middle Big Sioux River Basin continued into September. A couple of different heavy rain events again pushed isolated stretches of the river into Minor flood stage.

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 Sep 17, 5:29 PM CST, 15 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 17, 5:29 PM CST, 15 hours 31 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 17, 5:39 PM CST, 15 hours 21 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
September 18, 9:00 AM CST to September 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Brookings County, 8.56 mi NNW of Bruce to 7.62 mi W of Bruce
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
44.540, -96.960

The Big Sioux River near Bruce rose above flood stage on the morning of September 18th, cresting around 0.79 feet above flood stage (8.79 ft) on the 19th. The river fell below flood stage during the early morning on September 20th.

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 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, September 2025

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1288694.