This Day in Weather History: April 1st

Weather History - April 1st

Local and Regional Events:

April 1st, 1960:

Heavy snow of 4 to 10 inches fell in the eastern half of South Dakota. Some highways were closed mainly due to the difficulty plowing the heavy, wet snow. The snowfall in the Aberdeen area, which received 7.5 inches, set the record for April 1st and caused short-term power and phone failures. Snow with a high water content aggravated floods that were currently in progress on the James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux Rivers.

April 1-13th, 2011:

Snowmelt flooding in March continued across much of central and northeast South Dakota as the rest of the snowpack melted into early April. Many roads, along with many acres of crop and pastureland, remained flooded. Roads, culverts, and bridges were damaged across the region. Several roads were washed out, and many were closed. Many homes were threatened, and some were surrounded by water. Rising lake levels in northeast South Dakota also threatened and flooded many homes. Many people had to use four-wheelers to get to their homes. The total damage estimates, including March, were from 4.5 to 5 million dollars for the area. The flooding diminished across much of the region into May. 

The snowmelt flooding damaged many roads and highways throughout Hamlin County, including U.S. Highway 81. Many roads were closed throughout the county. In the late evening of April 13th on U.S. Highway 81, a car with four people inside went through a flooded area at a high rate of speed and ended up in the flooded ditch. They all got out with no injuries. The snowmelt runoff caused Lake Kampeska to rise to nearly 44 inches overfull. The lake flooded several roads and also threatened many homes. Sandbagging was done to hold off the rising lake. Waves and ice chunks eventually caused some damage to homes. Also, many boat lifts were damaged. Mud Creek near Rauville also went slightly above the flood stage of 9 feet to 9.64 feet for a couple of days in early April.