44
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$7.0M
Property damage
Flood in Clay County, South Dakota: 44 recorded events between 2007 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #290 nationally and #19 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in Clay County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in Clay County is the 2010s, when 35 of the county's 44 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Clay County archive, flood makes up 11.5% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #290 for this hazard and #19 within South Dakota, putting it in the 90.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for flood in Clay County with 14 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2024 | WESTERVILLE | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2024 | BURBANK | 0 | $6.5M |
| Jun 21, 2024 | WAKONDA | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2020 | WAKONDA | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2020 | WAKONDA | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 18, 2019 | WESTERVILLE | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 13, 2019 | WAKONDA | 0 | $20K |
| Sep 12, 2019 | BURBANK | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2019 | BURBANK | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2019 | WESTERVILLE | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Clay County
- Hail 174
- Thunderstorm Wind 113
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Persistent moderate to heavy rain caused flooding of fields and other lowlands, including several roads, homes, and businesses. This flooding lasted for almost two days, and was aggravated locally by additional storms during that time. Some roads were damaged or washed out.
Excessive rainfall from September 10-12 in upper portions of the Vermillion River Basin (6.78 inches 2 miles east of Montrose, 5.63 inches at Montrose) resulted in a crest on the Vermillion River near Wakonda (gage site WKAS2) of 1.58 feet above flood stage on September 16. Highway 19 south of Centerville was closed due to high water, along with numerous other county roads.
Excessive rainfall from September 10-12 in upper portions of the Vermillion River Basin (6.78 inches 2 miles east of Montrose, 5.63 inches at Montrose, 4.68 inches at Hurley) resulted in a crest on the Vermillion River at Vermillion (gage site VERS2) of 2.43 feet above flood stage on September 19. Numerous county roads were inundated with water with considerable flooding of agricultural lands.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in Clay County, South Dakota?
44 flood events are recorded in Clay County between 2007 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in Clay County?
The strongest flood on record in Clay County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for Clay County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flood in Clay County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/clay-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.