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Yellowstone River near Sidney

Highest listed crest 24.03 ftFlood stage 19.0 ft26 crests since 1952

The Yellowstone River near Sidney crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 26 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1952 to 2025. The highest, 24.03 ft on March 6, 1994, was major flooding, 5.03 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Yellowstone River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
24.03 ft
March 6, 1994; 75,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
19.0 ft
Major flooding from 21.7 ft
Crests at major
3
15th of 93 gauges in Montana
Most recent flood crest
March 24, 2019
19.59 ft, minor flooding
Location
Richland County
Montana

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Yellowstone River near Sidney
Action stage17.03Mar 2, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)19.05Mar 24, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage20.04May 23, 1978Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage21.73May 25, 2011Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

26 crests from 1952 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Yellowstone River near Sidney, 1952 to 2025 0510152025ft Flood stage 19.0 ftMajor 21.7 ft Mar 31, 1952: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 138,000 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1959: 19.14 ft, minor flooding; 57,300 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1965: 21.65 ft, moderate flooding; 100,000 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1969: 21.00 ft, moderate flooding; 61,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1971: 21.67 ft, moderate floodingMar 15, 1972: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 52,000 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1978: 20.02 ft, moderate flooding; 111,000 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1979: 19.57 ft, minor flooding; 47,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1986: 19.60 ft, minor floodingMar 6, 1994: 24.03 ft, major flooding; 75,000 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1996: 19.48 ft, minor floodingJun 17, 1996: 16.47 ft, below flood stage; 65,300 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1997: 18.73 ft, action stage; 85,300 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1999: 14.27 ft, below flood stage; 54,300 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2003: 13.35 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 2003: 13.53 ft, below flood stage; 49,100 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 2005: 13.49 ft, below flood stage; 48,100 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 2008: 14.64 ft, below flood stage; 56,804 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 2011: 22.08 ft, major floodingMay 25, 2011: 21.92 ft, major flooding; 114,280 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2014: 15.93 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 2017: 14.41 ft, below flood stage; 58,182 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 2018: 18.29 ft, action stageJun 2, 2018: 16.87 ft, below flood stage; 75,575 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2019: 19.59 ft, minor flooding; 95,416 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2025: 17.83 ft, action stage Highest, 24.03 ft, Mar 6, 1994 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Yellowstone River near Sidney 1950s: 1 1960s: 2 1970s: 3 3 1980s: 1 1990s: 2 2000s: 0 2010s: 3 2020s: 0 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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.
  3. 9 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 10.20 ft on Mar 29, 1912; 9.40 ft on Jun 23, 1916; 10.80 ft on Jun 20, 1918; 12.60 ft on Jun 21, 1921; 11.20 ft on Oct 3, 1923; 9.40 ft on Jul 1, 1927; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Yellowstone River near Sidney
1Mar 6, 199424.03+5.03Major75,000
2Mar 19, 201122.08+3.08Major—
3May 25, 201121.92+2.92Major114,280
4Feb 17, 197121.67+2.67Moderate—
5Jun 16, 196521.65+2.65Moderate100,000
6Mar 21, 196921.00+2.00Moderate61,000
7May 23, 197820.02+1.02Moderate111,000
8Feb 27, 198619.60+0.60Minor—
9Mar 24, 201919.59+0.59Minor95,416
10Mar 19, 197919.57+0.57Minor47,000
11Mar 14, 199619.48+0.48Minor—
12Mar 21, 195919.14+0.14Minor57,300
13Jun 17, 199718.73−0.27Action85,300
14Mar 26, 201818.29−0.71Action—
15Mar 2, 202517.83−1.17Action—
16Jun 2, 201816.87−2.13Below flood stage75,575
17Jun 17, 199616.47−2.53Below flood stage65,300
18Mar 12, 201415.93−3.07Below flood stage—
19Jun 30, 200814.64−4.36Below flood stage56,804
20Jun 10, 201714.41−4.59Below flood stage58,182
21Jun 26, 199914.27−4.73Below flood stage54,300
22Jun 5, 200313.53−5.47Below flood stage49,100
23Jun 29, 200513.49−5.51Below flood stage48,100
24Mar 18, 200313.35−5.65Below flood stage—
25Mar 31, 19520.00−19.00Below flood stage138,000
26Mar 15, 19720.00−19.00Below flood stage52,000

The worst floods along the Yellowstone River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Yellowstone River that crested above flood stage within a week.

March 6, 1994: 24.03 ft here, major flooding

  • GlendiveMT · Mar 5, 1994 · 60.50 ft · Moderate

May 25, 2011: 21.92 ft here, major flooding

  • GlendiveMT · May 23, 2011 · 56.38 ft · Minor
  • Miles CityMT · May 24, 2011 · 14.74 ft · Minor

February 17, 1971: 21.67 ft here, moderate flooding

  • GlendiveMT · Feb 16, 1971 · 61.25 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Yellowstone River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Yellowstone River
ForsythMT14.014.53 ft, May 21, 19780
Miles CityMT14.021.70 ft, Mar 20, 19440
GlendiveMT53.562.80 ft, Mar 20, 19690
Sidney this gaugeMT19.024.03 ft, Mar 6, 19943

Other gauges in Richland County

Flood gauges in Richland County
Culbertson19.019.66 ft, Apr 14, 19790

Richland County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Montana

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SIDM8, 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.