South Dakota Environment & Hazard Risk

During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Severe (D2) drought conditions eased to moderate (D1) early June, with early month temperatures slightly below normal and rainfall around 50 percent of normal. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Rainfall amounts across Union County from June 20-22 ranged from around a third of an inch across southern areas to 1 to 2 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa, with locally higher amounts in excess of 12 inches. ||This rainfall resulted in record flooding along the Big Sioux River and extensive overland flooding along the adjoining flood plain. County-wide, 44 residences were destroyed and another 182 received minor to major flood damage. Estimated losses exceed 52 million dollars. At the peak of the flooding, there were an estimated 20 to 30 water rescues. ||Residents along Northshore and Penrose Drives on the north side of McCook Lake were evacuated on the evening of June 23 as flood waters rose rapidly. Catastrophic damage ensued, with at least 26 homes declared a total loss and nearby infrastructure destroyed. Interstate 29 was inundated with water north of North Sioux City and closed June 23. The road reopened two days later on June 25. The railroad bridge crossing the Big Sioux River at North Sioux City also collapsed due to flooding. ||Preliminary damage...

A powerful winter storm moved slowly across the central and northern Plains to the upper Midwest; bringing heavy snow, some mixed precipitation, strong winds, and periods of blizzard or near blizzard conditions across the plains for a multi-day period. Snowfall was heaviest from northwestern to south central South Dakota and across the northern Black Hills. Precipitation started as a mix in the form of rain, freezing rain, and freezing drizzle across much of the plains, then changed to snow in most areas by the daytime hours on the 13th. Bands of snow were moderate to heavy at times in many areas, with a very prolonged period of upslope enhanced snowfall across the northern Black Hills. Amounts across the area ranged from one foot to over two feet across much of the plains, with the highest amounts generally from Oglala Lakota County into parts of south central South Dakota. Lesser amounts were noted over portions of southwestern South Dakota, from Rapid City and the central Black Hills to Fall River County, due to predominant downslope winds. The highest amounts were noted across the northern Black Hills area, where 18 to 36 inches were recorded in many areas, with favored...

During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Spring snowmelt and heavy rain flooding from March, April, and May continued into June. This combined with above normal June rainfall resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of crops damaged or unplanted across central and northeast South Dakota. For the entire state of South Dakota, nearly 4 million acres of crops were left unplanted as a result of the flooding. Total damaged or unplanted crop loss estimates for central and northeast South Dakota were near 307 million dollars.