Mississippi River near Aitkin, MN
River level and flood forecast · Aitkin County
Normal2.3 ftas of Mon 3:30 PM
The river is 10.7 ft below flood stage (13 ft).
Forecast to hold near 2.3 ft through Mon, Oct 19, 7 AM.
Flow: 735 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 7:47 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 18 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 15 ft |
| Flood stage | 13 ft |
| Action stage | 12 ft |
| Record crest (May 20, 1950) | 22.49 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 26 ftThe BNSF Railroad track becomes impassable.
- 25 ftThe transformer station becomes inoperable.
- 23.5 ftThe power and water plants in Aitkin become inoperative.
- 21 ftThe power plant at Aitkin needs emergency protection.
- 20.5 ftPortions of Highway 169 northeast of Aitkin become impassable.
- 19 ftThe transformer station needs emergency protection.
- 18 ftThe Aitkin sewage plant becomes inoperative.
- 17 ftPumping begins at the wastewater treatment plant. Sandbagging begins at Aitkin city transformer. Water tops the levees on the North side of Aitkin.
- 15 ftA few homes become surrounded by water in the Cedarbrook neighborhood near Eagle Rd. The Aitkin city park becomes flooded.
- 13 ftThe boat ramp at Aitkin city park floods. A few driveways become covered with water in the Cedarbrook area. Minor flooding of farmland occurs in the Cedarbrook community.
Highest crests on record
- 22.49 ft — May 20, 1950
- 19.5 ft — July 6, 1905
- 19.3 ft — April 29, 1916
- 18.8 ft — June 9, 1944
- 18.77 ft — April 27, 1948
Recent crests: 12.98 ft (June 29, 2024) · 17.5 ft (April 25, 2023) · 15.24 ft (May 18, 2022) · 13.39 ft (April 19, 2021) · 15.38 ft (April 12, 2020)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (ATKM5); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.