This Day in Weather History: May 11th

Weather History - May 11th

May 11th, 1966:

Late season snow fell in north central and northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota. Amounts include 4 inches in Timber Lake; 3 in Eureka, 2 NNW of Mobridge and Roscoe; and 2 inches in Artichoke Lake, MN, Pollock, and Waubay.

May 11th, 1998:

Torrential rains of 2 to 4 inches with some amounts nearing 5 inches fell across a large part of Brown, Marshall, Day, Spink, and Clark counties on the evening of the 11th. This heavy rain only exacerbated the already extensive flooding from years of above-average precipitation. Day County was most affected by this round of heavy rain, where area lakes were already at new record levels. Blue Dog, Waubay, Rush, and Bitter Lake in Day County were just a few of the lakes hard hit. Extensive sandbagging was done around Blue Dog Lake to save many homes. Some residents of Blue Dog Lake said they had never seen the lake so high in over 35 years of living there. Many more roads flooded after this heavy rain event and remained so for quite some time. Spots on U.S. Highway 12 and U.S. Highway 25 flooded near Holmquist and Webster. There remained only one road open to the town of Grenville in northeastern Day County. In all five counties, the rising water took away many more acres of farm and pastureland, drowning many already planted crops. One farmer in Spink County said sixty percent of his farm was under water. Some farmhouses and outbuildings became surrounded by water, leaving some families stranded. After this heavy rain, around sixty percent of the crop and pastureland in Day County and one-third in Spink County had been inundated by a swollen water table and several years of above normal precipitation. The continued flooding has tremendously impacted the economy in the five-county area. Some rainfall amounts on this day include 4.7 inches just north of Crocker in Clark County, 4.52 at Webster, 4.01 at Doland, 3.81 at Waubay NWR, 3.60 at Turton, 2.63 at Conde, 2.60 at Groton, 2.41 at Clark, and 2.18 inches at Aberdeen.

Additional heavy rain of 2 to 4 inches fell mainly during the evening of the 11th across southern and central Hand County. Many creeks in the area became rushing torrents through the night and the day of the 12th. Also, low-lying areas and a lot of crop and pastureland were flooded. Some businesses and homes in the Miller, Saint Lawrence, Ree Heights, and Vayland areas were flooded. Some sandbagging was done to try to save some properties in Miller. U.S. Highway 14 at the east end of Miller was flooded for several hours, along with many other streets and county and township roads in southern and central Hand County. Many of the roads were damaged as a result of the flooding. Some people in Miller said they had never seen it flood this bad in 35 years. Some rainfall amounts include 3.99 inches at Miller, 3.10 inches 3 miles south of Ree Heights, and 2.65 at Ree Heights.