Rapid Creek below Hawthorne Ditch at Rapid City, SD
River level and flood forecast · Pennington County
Normal9.4 ftas of Mon 12:40 PM
The river is 6.6 ft below flood stage (16 ft).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 5 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Flood stage | 16 ft |
| Action stage | 13 ft |
| Record crest (June 9, 1972) | 24.3 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 16 ftFlood stage. Minor flooding along Rapid Creek in eastern portions of Rapid City.
- 15.5 ftRight bank begins overflowing.
- 13 ftAction stage. Low lying areas along Rapid Creek may begin to flood.
Highest crests on record
- 24.3 ft — June 9, 1972
- 16.81 ft — August 5, 2014
- 16.77 ft — July 4, 2019
- 16.26 ft — May 24, 2010
- 16.05 ft — June 18, 2015
Recent crests: 13.44 ft (August 11, 2024) · 13.93 ft (May 29, 2023) · 15.1 ft (July 24, 2022) · 12.67 ft (May 23, 2021) · 14.36 ft (June 4, 2020)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- UpstreamRapid Creek at Founders Park, SD
- DownstreamRapid Creek above Water Reclamation Facility near Rapid City, SD
- Rapid Creek above Canyon Lake near Rapid City, SD
- Boxelder Creek near Rapid City, SD
- South Canyon near Rapid City, SD
- Rapid Creek above Victoria Creek near Rapid City, SD
- Wild Irishman Gulch near Rapid City, SD
- Spring Creek (SD) near Rockerville, SD
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (HAWS2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.