Flood in Beadle County, South Dakota

Major flooding of the James River, as well as flooding of small streams and lakes in the county, continued through April. Much farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the James River. The James River was 7.3 feet above flood stage at Huron on April 1st, and fell very slowly during the month. Over 50 miles of roads remained closed by the flooding at the start of the month, including South Dakota Highway 28 in the eastern part of the county. Water was running over other roads, from flooded streams, creeks, and fields as well as from the James River. Many roads were heavily damaged. The damage to township and county roads alone was estimated near the end of April at 1.7 million dollars. Some homes and businesses were also flooded, with the flooding of these places slowly alleviating through the month. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010, a main reason the flooding onset was so fast in March, was also a main reason that the flooding subsided so slowly during April.

Heavy rainfall caused flooding of low areas including fields, homes, businesses, schools, roads, streams, and bridges. The flooding was a longer term event than flash flooding, which had also resulted. Long term major flooding of the James River also resulted, with the river peaking at 6.7 feet above flood stage at Huron on May 7th. Numerous parks and other recreation areas were affected, especially in the Huron area. Some roads and bridges were washed out by the high water. The flooding delayed planting of crops in some areas.

A continuation of minor flooding from August, the James River at Huron (gage site HURS2) responded rapidly mid-month to 2 to 3 inches of rainfall from September 10-12 near and upstream of Beadle County to crest 3.95 feet above flood stage on September 17. Many rural roads near the river remained inundated, with continued flooding of significant amounts of agricultural land. Minor flooding continued at the end of the month.