The Black Hills-Rapid City flood of June 9-10, 1972: A description of the storm and flood

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service have a long history of cooperation in monitoring and describing the Nation's water cycle-the movement of water as atmospheric moisture, as precipitation, as runoff, as streamflow, as ground water, and finally, through evaporation, its return to the atmosphere to begin the cycle over again. The cooperative effort has been a natural dovetailing of technical talent and responsibility: the National Weather Service as the Federal agency responsible for monitoring and predicting atmospheric moisture and precipitation, for forecasting river flow, and for issuing warnings of destructive weather events; and the U.S. Geological Survey as the primary agency for monitoring the quantity and quality of the earthbound water resources.