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Sandhill River at Climax

Highest listed crest 39.40 ftFlood stage 20.0 ft82 crests since 1943

The Sandhill River at Climax crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 82 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1943 to 2026. The highest, 39.40 ft on April 20, 1997, was major flooding, 19.40 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
39.40 ft
April 20, 1997; 4,360 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
20.0 ft
Major flooding from 30.0 ft
Crests at major
3
42nd of 120 gauges in Minnesota
Most recent flood crest
April 24, 2023
20.73 ft, minor flooding
Location
Polk County
Minnesota

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Sandhill River at Climax
Action stage15.017Oct 17, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)20.04Apr 24, 2023Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage25.08Apr 10, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage30.03Apr 13, 2011Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

82 crests from 1943 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Sandhill River at Climax, 1943 to 2026 010203040ft Flood stage 20.0 ftMajor 30.0 ft Apr 7, 1943: 10.48 ft, below flood stage; 941 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1944: 5.45 ft, below flood stageApr 11, 1945: 9.18 ft, below flood stage; 767 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1946: 6.92 ft, below flood stageApr 19, 1947: 13.28 ft, below flood stage; 1,840 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1948: 13.67 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 1949: 10.40 ft, below flood stage; 990 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1950: 16.31 ft, action stage; 3,040 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1951: 11.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1952: 9.52 ft, below flood stage; 544 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1953: 5.88 ft, below flood stageApr 13, 1954: 7.52 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1954: 7.36 ft, below flood stage; 489 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1955: 10.35 ft, below flood stage; 842 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1956: 10.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,370 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1957: 7.06 ft, below flood stage; 481 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1958: 4.45 ft, below flood stageApr 2, 1959: 7.64 ft, below flood stage; 310 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1960: 8.80 ft, below flood stage; 460 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1961: 4.86 ft, below flood stage; 140 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1962: 11.70 ft, below flood stage; 1,570 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1963: 7.26 ft, below flood stageApr 17, 1964: 9.40 ft, below flood stage; 730 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1965: 17.81 ft, action stage; 4,560 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1966: 17.33 ft, action stage; 4,220 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1967: 14.46 ft, below flood stage; 2,060 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1968: 12.71 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1969: 28.32 ft, moderate floodingApr 16, 1970: 13.64 ft, below flood stage; 1,980 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1971: 13.60 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1972: 15.85 ft, action stageMar 17, 1973: 11.25 ft, below flood stage; 897 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1974: 15.87 ft, action stage; 1,890 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1975: 24.84 ft, minor floodingApr 9, 1977: 8.36 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 1978: 27.21 ft, moderate flooding; 3,060 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1979: 32.79 ft, major floodingApr 3, 1980: 12.06 ft, below flood stageMay 24, 1981: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 362 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1982: 14.17 ft, below flood stageMar 7, 1983: 13.78 ft, below flood stageMar 31, 1984: 16.49 ft, action stageAug 17, 1985: 10.50 ft, below flood stage; 974 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1986: 16.21 ft, action stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1987: 11.57 ft, below flood stageApr 2, 1988: 10.43 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 1989: 25.00 ft, moderate flooding; 2,430 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1990: 7.52 ft, below flood stage; 405 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1991: 8.71 ft, below flood stage; 613 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1992: 7.06 ft, below flood stageAug 3, 1993: 16.13 ft, action stage; 1,320 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1994: 12.67 ft, below flood stage; 1,660 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1995: 17.07 ft, action stageApr 20, 1997: 39.40 ft, major flooding; 4,360 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1998: 15.95 ft, action stageMar 31, 1999: 21.24 ft, minor flooding; 3,720 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2000: 16.24 ft, action stageApr 14, 2001: 26.05 ft, moderate floodingJul 10, 2002: 16.62 ft, action stage; 3,530 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2003: 8.24 ft, below flood stage; 670 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 2004: 15.48 ft, action stage; 2,610 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2005: 16.51 ft, action stageApr 7, 2006: 29.86 ft, moderate flooding; 4,160 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 2007: 15.92 ft, action stageApr 9, 2008: 8.37 ft, below flood stage; 400 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 2010: 29.85 ft, moderate floodingApr 13, 2011: 34.56 ft, major flooding; 4,800 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2013: 18.43 ft, action stageApr 11, 2014: 14.25 ft, below flood stageJun 25, 2015: 8.70 ft, below flood stage; 909 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 2016: 11.05 ft, below flood stage; 1,730 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 2017: 13.09 ft, below flood stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2018: 13.32 ft, below flood stageApr 13, 2019: 27.82 ft, moderate floodingOct 17, 2019: 16.16 ft, action stage; 743 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2020: 26.84 ft, moderate flooding; 2,140 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2021: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 24 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 2022: 21.94 ft, minor floodingApr 24, 2023: 20.73 ft, minor flooding; 2,440 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2024: 8.31 ft, below flood stage; 882 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2025: 10.29 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 2026: 10.96 ft, below flood stage Highest, 39.40 ft, Apr 20, 1997 1960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Sandhill River at Climax 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 1 1970s: 3 3 1980s: 1 1990s: 2 2000s: 2 2010s: 3 2020s: 3 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 82 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Sandhill River at Climax
1Apr 20, 199739.40+19.40Major4,360
2Apr 13, 201134.56+14.56Major4,800
3Apr 23, 197932.79+12.79Major—
4Apr 7, 200629.86+9.86Moderate4,160
5Mar 23, 201029.85+9.85Moderate—
6Apr 17, 196928.32+8.32Moderate—
7Apr 13, 201927.82+7.82Moderate—
8Apr 10, 197827.21+7.21Moderate3,060
9Apr 10, 202026.84+6.84Moderate2,140
10Apr 14, 200126.05+6.05Moderate—
11Apr 10, 198925.00+5.00Moderate2,430
12Jul 11, 197524.84+4.84Minor—
13Apr 30, 202221.94+1.94Minor—
14Mar 31, 199921.24+1.24Minor3,720
15Apr 24, 202320.73+0.73Minor2,440
16May 1, 201318.43−1.57Action—
17Apr 14, 196517.81−2.19Action4,560
18Apr 2, 196617.33−2.67Action4,220
19Mar 31, 199517.07−2.93Action—
20Jul 10, 200216.62−3.38Action3,530
21Jun 18, 200516.51−3.49Action—
22Mar 31, 198416.49−3.51Action—
23Apr 22, 195016.31−3.69Action3,040
24Jun 27, 200016.24−3.76Action—
25Mar 29, 198616.21−3.79Action2,000
26Oct 17, 201916.16−3.84Action743
27Aug 3, 199316.13−3.87Action1,320
28Mar 3, 199815.95−4.05Action—
29Jun 21, 200715.92−4.08Action—
30Apr 16, 197415.87−4.13Action1,890
31Mar 25, 197215.85−4.15Action—
32Apr 1, 200415.48−4.52Action2,610
33Mar 30, 196714.46−5.54Below flood stage2,060
34Apr 11, 201414.25−5.75Below flood stage—
35Apr 9, 198214.17−5.83Below flood stage—
36Mar 7, 198313.78−6.22Below flood stage—
37Apr 13, 194813.67−6.33Below flood stage—
38Apr 16, 197013.64−6.36Below flood stage1,980
39Apr 8, 197113.60−6.40Below flood stage1,460
40Apr 19, 201813.32−6.68Below flood stage—
41Apr 19, 194713.28−6.72Below flood stage1,840
42Feb 22, 201713.09−6.91Below flood stage1,260
43Jun 7, 196812.71−7.29Below flood stage1,400
44Jul 8, 199412.67−7.33Below flood stage1,660
45Apr 3, 198012.06−7.94Below flood stage—
46Apr 11, 195111.90−8.10Below flood stage1,250
47Jul 8, 196211.70−8.30Below flood stage1,570
48Mar 22, 198711.57−8.43Below flood stage—
49Mar 17, 197311.25−8.75Below flood stage897
50Aug 30, 201611.05−8.95Below flood stage1,730

Other gauges in Polk County

Flood gauges in Polk County
Red Lake River at Crookston15.028.40 ft, Apr 17, 199718

Polk County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Minnesota

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CLXM5, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.