Red River of the North at Wahpeton, ND
River level and flood forecast · Richland County
Normal4.1 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM
The river is 6.9 ft below flood stage (11 ft).
Flow: 312 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 | 15 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 13 ft |
| Flood stage | 11 ft |
| Action stage | 9.5 ft |
| Record crest (April 6, 1997) | 19.42 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 22.5 ftTop of the permanent dike.
- 18 ftClose dike openings at Minnesota St (MN) and Dakota St (ND). Close dike openings at railroad bridge (requires removal of railroad tracks).
- 17.5 ftRECORD FLOOD. Post-Diversion Flood of Record (March 24, 2009). Post-1900 Flood Flow of Record (10.4 kcfs on March 24, 2009).
- 16.5 ftCity mobilizes as patrolling of levees and storm sewer outlets begins.
- 16 ftWells Park floods. Flooding of a portion of the sanitary sewer system begins.
- 15 ftMAJOR FLOOD. Wahpeton storm sewer outlets and Main Sreet closed.
- 13.5 ftNorth Main Street and bridge closed (Breckenridge).
- 13 ftMODERATE FLOOD. Start to put up flood wall (Breckenridge) if river is forecast to go above 15 feet.
- 12 ftStorm sewer valves are closed and interior pumping begins (Breckenridge).
- 11.6 ftOtter Tail River water starts to flow into the Breckenridge Diversion. Water on Main Street (Breckenridge).
- 11 ftMINOR FLOOD.
- 9.5 ftACTION STAGE/FORECAST SERVICE STAGE.
- 8 ftOtter Tail River starts to overflow downstream of Highway 75 bridge. This breakout flow will enter the Red River 600 feet downstream of the gage. As stage rises, water fans out and floods the entire east side of bottomlands.
- 7 ftClose storm sewer outfalls.
Highest crests on record
- 19.42 ft — April 6, 1997
- 17.95 ft — April 5, 1989
- 17.5 ft — March 24, 2009
- 17 ft — January 1, 1897
- 16.94 ft — April 9, 2001
Recent crests: 8.61 ft (March 21, 2026) · 10.24 ft (May 22, 2025) · 11.93 ft (June 5, 2024) · 12.54 ft (April 19, 2023) · 13.18 ft (June 1, 2022)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- UpstreamBois de Sioux River near Doran, MN
- DownstreamRed River of the North at Enloe, ND
- Otter Tail River Diversion at Breckenridge, MN
- Antelope Creek (ND) at Dwight, ND
- Wild Rice River (ND) near Abercrombie, ND
- Otter Tail River below Orwell Dam near Fergus Falls, MN
- Orwell Lake at Orwell Dam near Fergus Falls, MN
- Wild Rice River (ND) near Mantador, ND
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (WHNN8); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.