Flood in Sanborn County, South Dakota

Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 2.47 inches at Forestburg and 1.60 inches at Huron) resulted in extensive flooding of agricultural land and numerous township and county roads. The James River near Forestburg (gage site FORS2) reached a crest of 4.18 feet above flood stage on March 25. The driver and passenger of a garbage truck were (directly) killed when their truck went off the road and into the flood waters at the base of the bridge near the gage site. The river remained at moderate flood stage at the end of the month.

A historic flooding event unfolded as heavy rainfall with a late winter storm drenched the area on March 13-14, 2019. With 1 to 3 inches of snow water equivalent still in the snow pack south of Interstate 90 and 3 to 6 inches of snow water equivalent north of Interstate 90, gradually warming temperatures, and the frozen impervious ground, area rivers crested a second time due to additional runoff about a week after the first rapid crests. Overall, fifteen river gage sites measured record stages around the area.