South Fork Palouse River at Pullman, WA
River level and flood forecast · Whitman County
The river is 6.1 ft below flood stage (7 ft).
Forecast to hold near 0.9 ft through Mon, Oct 19, 5 PM.
Flow: 5 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 8:12 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Get flood alerts for this river
An email when the National Weather Service forecasts South Fork Palouse River at Pullman to flood, when it floods, and when it's over.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 9 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 8 ft |
| Flood stage | 7 ft |
| Action stage | 5.5 ft |
| Record crest (March 1, 1910) | 11.8 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 10 ftSevere flooding of residential and business areas can be expected from Pullman downstream to Hooper.
- 9 ftWater will be several feet deep on Main Street and inches deep on Grand Ave and other neighboring streets. Major flooding of businesses, homes, and roads along the river can be expected. Missouri Flat Creek will likely be out of its banks and flowing over Grand Ave, Stadium Way, and beginning to flood homes and businesses on Park Street. Paradise Cr and the river will approach homes and businesses on Professional Mall and Bleasner Drives. Equivalent to the February 1996 flood.
- 7 ftMinor flooding in the residential and business areas along the river in and around Pullman can be expected. Ponding of water on portions of Grand Ave near Missouri Flat Creek. Flooding in portions of Spring Street Skate Park, the City Palyfields, and the Pullman RV Park.
- 6.5 ftWater will be up to the bottom of the pedestrian bridge at Main and Pine Street. The low spot on Morton Street near Reaney Park will be flooded. Water will be up along the foundations of the older commercial buildings along Poplar Street near its intersection with State Street as well as the older buildings on Main Street bewteen Kamiaken and Paradise Streets. Flooding of pasture land downstream of Pullman.
- 4.5 ftMinor flooding near the shoreline and bench at Riverfront Park in downtown Pullman.
Highest crests on record
- 11.8 ft — March 1, 1910
- 9.5 ft — February 26, 1948
- 9.46 ft — January 21, 1972
- 9.04 ft — February 9, 1996
- 8.83 ft — January 1, 1997
Recent crests: 8.82 ft (March 14, 2026) · 7.61 ft (February 23, 2025) · 5.83 ft (December 28, 2023) · 4.51 ft (January 21, 2022) · 4.39 ft (January 13, 2021)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (PULW1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.