SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO-AM) Very heavy rain, mixed with thunder and lightening, deluged Sioux Falls and wide parts of the Sioux Empire on Thursday.
The rain, at times, was pounding down at the rate of one to three inches an hour. The National Weather Service predicts the area could get up to eight inches before the storms end. It was definitely the rainiest September 15 on record in Sioux Falls.
In the end 3.61 inches of rain was recorded at the Sioux Falls Airport, smashing the record rainfall for September 15th by over 2 inches. Rainfall amounts of up to 6 inches could be found in southern areas of Sioux Falls.
The roof of Harrisburg High School was hit by lightening. No one was hurt and classes kept rolling along.
Flash flooding forced the temporary closure of northbound Interstate 29 to northbound I-229.
National Weather Service Forecaster Todd Heitkamp says the rain was coming in successive waves. It would slow down for awhile, and then another wave would move through.
"It's definitely going to be a wet 24 to 36 hours,"' explained Heitkamp.
He says the raincoat weather is supposed to clear out Friday afternoon for a very nice weekend.