Flood — Mcpherson, South Dakota

2023-04-12 to 2023-04-14 · near Greenway, Mcpherson, South Dakota

Wider weather episode

The snowfall during the season in northeast and central South Dakota exceeded normal levels, with many locations ranking among the top 10 for the snowiest seasons. Additionally, the late spring conditions were unusually cold, resulting in a persistent and exceptionally deep snowpack until early April. The depth of the snowpack ranged from 15 to 30 plus inches, containing approximately 4 to 8 inches of snow water equivalent. However, the weather pattern shifted to abnormally warm conditions in the middle of April. Starting from April 9th, temperatures rapidly rose into the 40s and 50s in areas with deep snowpack, and occasionally reached the 60s and 70s thereafter. The rapid snowmelt that followed resulted in extensive overland flooding in the region between April 10th and 18th.

Flooding resulted in severe damage to public infrastructure. Several reports surfaced of county and township roads being washed out or submerged in water across central and northeastern South Dakota. The communities of Wilmot, SD, and Corona, SD, experienced significant and widespread flooding. In Grant County, SD, a water rescue was carried out after a motorist drove into a flooded roadway. Furthermore, flooding impacted infrastructure along Big Stone Lake in Grant County, Lake Kampeska in Codington County, and the Lake Traverse Reservation. A Presidential Disaster Declaration was approved for Brown, Clark, Codington, Day, Faulk, Grant, Hand, Marshall, Potter and Roberts Counties, as well as for the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, where an estimated $2,305,362 in total qualifying costs were incurred.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.9400, -99.7100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1097404. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.