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<br />THE UNITED STATES
<br />E28 FLOODS OF 1-96 5 IN
<br />. . ad to be planted. Heavy losses were also
<br />substitute emergency crops h, stock and other farm property were
<br />. d h in hve, .
<br />sustiune w en stored gra , waS $4 951800,
<br />. It ral damage " ,.
<br />damaged. Total agrlCU u d roads was confined prImarIly to
<br />Damage to bridges, culvertd:n ties wherein occurred 96 percent
<br />Kittson, Marshall, and polk. u;;.am~ reported by the Corps of
<br />of the $1,284,,900 transportatIon
<br />Engineers,
<br />E NOR11IERN BLACK HILLS, S. OAK.
<br />FLOODS OF MAY 14-15 IN TH
<br />BY R. E. WEST
<br />
<br />1 st eams in the northern Black Hills of
<br />Flooding occurred on sroal, [aU on May 14,-15 fell within a week
<br />South Dakota when heavy rawU f May 8-9.
<br />after a late-season heavy snowfah oBlack Hills and a narrow strip of
<br />Snowfall was general over ten of May 8 and the morning of
<br />d. t 1 - d . the afternoo .
<br />a Jacen p ams urmg d r the northern Black Hills where
<br />M Th ntere ove . ',.
<br />ay 9. e storm was c~ t Lead recorded 34 mcnes of snow hav-
<br />the Weather Bureau statIOn a. h Although daytime temperatures
<br />. . 1 t f4161l1C es,
<br />mg a water eqUlva en 0, 'ld nighttime temperatures were
<br />f . h werellU,
<br />ollowmg t e snowstorro jJ' from the snowmelt was moderate.
<br />mostly near freezing, and ru;;o during the periods of snowmelt in-
<br />The small increases in stream ~w as absorbed bv the soiL Scattered
<br />dicate that most of the Dlel! w~:le~ areas and ravines on the morning
<br />patches of snow reroainmg m
<br />of May 14, were saturated, nd storm moved into the northern
<br />On the' morning of May 14,adseco r Lead where 6.93 inches of rain-
<br />Black Hills which also centere. oV~4, hours. This intense rainfall was
<br />faU was recorded in the foJlO~:'hour storm. Flooding began along
<br />1'12 times that of the 100-ye~~e Fourche River tributaries .( fig. 13)
<br />the upper reaches of the Be d' ntinued in the lower reaches until
<br />during the evening of May 14 an co .
<br />the morning of May 15, , d at three gaging statio,ns, one
<br />d. ch deterffillle . . .
<br />Peak 18 arges were '. Umeous sites (table 10). The peak
<br />crest-stage station, and four rol~sh Creek at Spearfish (sta, 2) 'was
<br />discharge (4,,24,0 cfs) on Spear, . s maximum in 19 years of record.
<br />4,0 percent higher than the pre"'o~ only 673 cfs near Cheyenne Cross-
<br />Spearfish Creek had a.peak floW ~ om Spearfish. Field jnspectioll of
<br />ing (sta. 1), 16 miles upstrea~ t~e flow at Spearfish originated in
<br />the area indicated that u:ost ~ownstream from Cheyenne .Crossing.
<br />small, east bank tributarIes lse BottoID and Polo Creeks combined
<br />Flows from Spearfish, Fa eek at the Wyoming-South Dakota. State
<br />with the flow of Redwater Cr f 1 230 cfs caused the second high-
<br />line, which had a peak discharge 0,' .
<br />
<br />r
<br />,
<br />I
<br />I
<br />
<br />S~RY OF FLOODS
<br />
<br />E29
<br />
<br />
<br />Belle
<br />
<br />. I
<br />44"30'r
<br />1E'i
<br />,-,0
<br />Zl'"
<br />~I"
<br />:a "
<br />01'"
<br />,.. ..
<br />'" "
<br />10
<br />I'"
<br />I
<br />I
<br />I
<br />I
<br />,
<br />,
<br />
<br />10 0
<br />I,." I" ,I
<br />
<br />10 MILES
<br />I
<br />
<br />EXPLANATION
<br />.3
<br />Flood-determination point
<br />NwmberclJ'rTeSpondsto
<br />tkatintablel0
<br />
<br />FIGURE l3.-Location of flood-determination points, floods of May 14--15 in the
<br />northern Black Hills, S.D.
<br />
<br />I
<br />
<br />est peak flow (8,480 ds) in 20 years oirecord at Redwater River above
<br />Belle Fourche (sta. 5).
<br />The middle and lower reaches of Whitewood and Bear Butte Creeks
<br />had severe floods on .June 15-16, 1962 (Rostvedt and others, 1968),
<br />when it was reported that as much as 12 inches of rain had fallen in
<br />6 hours in a small area centered 7 miles northeast of Lead. Indirect
<br />measurements were made of peak flow for the 1962 flood on white-
<br />wood Creek at the Chicago and North Western Railway bridge, 1 mile
<br />east of Whitewood, and on Bear Butte Creek at the State Highway 79
<br />crossing, 2% miles northeast of Fort Meade. Levels to high-water
<br />marks left by the floods of May 14-15, 1965, indicated that peak stages
<br />at these two sites were 0.6 foot and 1.2 feet lower, respectively, than
<br />those of the 1962 flood. The crest of Mav 15, 1965, on Bear Butte Creek
<br />flattened rapidly as it moved downstr"'~m and caused a peak discharge
<br />near Sturgis (sta,8) that was only 21 percent of the maximum of reC-
<br />ord, which occurred during the.J une 1962 flood.
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