September 20-21 Flooding

A large mid to upper level low pressure system moved across North Dakota on September 20th through September 21st, 2019. This low pressure system led to excessive rain across much of central North Dakota, as the atmosphere featured anomalously high moisture with a low level jet impinging on a stationary frontal boundary. These ingredients created a perfect scenario for thunderstorm training, which generally occurred in a line extending from Morton through Burleigh, Kidder, Stutsman, Sheridan, Wells, and Foster counties. The hardest hit areas were in portions of Sheridan and Wells counties, where some areas received over 7 inches of rain in less than 15 hours. This led to rather extensive rural flooding, which resulted in a road washout on Highway 200 in Wells County.