Forest River at Minto, ND
River level and flood forecast · Walsh County
Normal1.5 ftas of Mon 1:15 PM
The river is 4.5 ft below flood stage (6 ft).
Flow: 51 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 6 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 11 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 8 ft |
| Flood stage | 6 ft |
| Action stage | 4.5 ft |
| Record crest (April 18, 1950) | 11.8 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 11 ftMAJOR FLOOD.
- 10.4 ftBridge with wire-weight gage upstream from gage house floods.
- 8 ftMODERATE FLOOD. During high flow, river may bypass Minto to the south and flow into Lake Ardoch. Urban flooding begins.
- 7.5 ftOld Highway 81 is underwater.
- 6 ftMINOR FLOOD. Left bank flooding.
- 4.5 ftACTION STAGE/FORECAST SERVICE STAGE.
- 4 ftRight bank flooding.
Highest crests on record
- 11.8 ft — April 18, 1950
- 11.8 ft — April 19, 1948
- 9.28 ft — April 17, 2023
- 9.27 ft — March 29, 2004
- 9.11 ft — April 4, 1997
Recent crests: 5.73 ft (March 24, 2026) · 2.21 ft (June 22, 2025) · 2.78 ft (June 20, 2024) · 9.28 ft (April 17, 2023) · 8.64 ft (April 25, 2022)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- UpstreamForest River near Fordville, ND
- DownstreamRed River of the North at Drayton, ND
- Park River at Grafton, ND
- Park River at Park River Diversion at Grafton, ND
- Red River of the North at Oslo, MN
- Homme Reservoir near Park River, ND
- Turtle River at Turtle River State Park near Arvilla, ND
- Middle River at Argyle, MN
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (MTON8); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.