Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Cannonball River at Breien

Highest listed crest 22.30 ftFlood stage 10.0 ft95 crests since 1935

The Cannonball River at Breien crested above flood stage 46 times among the 95 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1935 to 2021. The highest, 22.30 ft on April 19, 1950, was moderate flooding, 12.30 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Cannonball River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
22.30 ft
April 19, 1950; 94,800 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.0 ft
Major flooding from 23.0 ft
Crests at major
0
46 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
June 9, 2021
17.02 ft, minor flooding
Location
Morton County
North Dakota

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Cannonball River at Breien
Action stage8.014Mar 31, 2018The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.043Jun 9, 2021Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage20.03Mar 24, 2009Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage23.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

95 crests from 1935 to 2021. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Cannonball River at Breien, 1935 to 2021 0510152025ft Flood stage 10.0 ftMajor 23.0 ft Jul 12, 1935: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 2,920 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1936: 6.50 ft, below flood stageJun 14, 1937: 14.28 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1938: 8.49 ft, action stage; 4,850 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1939: 9.06 ft, action stage; 4,520 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1940: 6.10 ft, below flood stageJun 11, 1941: 11.56 ft, minor flooding; 9,060 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1942: 5.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,830 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1943: 17.40 ft, minor flooding; 28,200 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1944: 12.45 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1945: 11.85 ft, minor flooding; 7,000 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1946: 5.60 ft, below flood stage; 2,320 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1947: 15.00 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1948: 14.90 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1949: 11.10 ft, minor flooding; 8,320 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1950: 22.30 ft, moderate flooding; 94,800 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1951: 14.80 ft, minor flooding; 17,200 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1954: 5.06 ft, below flood stage; 2,610 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1955: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 720 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1957: 8.93 ft, action stage; 5,600 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1958: 8.20 ft, action stage; 3,000 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1959: 8.12 ft, action stageMar 22, 1959: 7.08 ft, below flood stage; 3,800 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1960: 7.46 ft, below flood stage; 4,100 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1961: 2.22 ft, below flood stage; 374 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1962: 7.34 ft, below flood stage; 4,570 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1963: 4.74 ft, below flood stage; 900 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1964: 7.49 ft, below flood stage; 4,570 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1965: 5.50 ft, below flood stage; 2,300 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1966: 14.44 ft, minor flooding; 16,100 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1967: 15.02 ft, minor flooding; 7,200 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1968: 3.35 ft, below flood stage; 580 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1969: 13.91 ft, minor flooding; 16,900 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1971: 12.00 ft, minor floodingMar 16, 1972: 14.40 ft, minor flooding; 19,400 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1973: 10.57 ft, minor flooding; 2,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1974: 4.51 ft, below flood stageMay 13, 1975: 10.70 ft, minor flooding; 8,220 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1976: 3.51 ft, below flood stage; 1,010 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1977: 7.56 ft, below flood stage; 4,060 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1978: 16.38 ft, minor flooding; 22,600 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1979: 9.62 ft, action stage; 6,770 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1980: 7.72 ft, below flood stage; 2,560 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1981: 7.15 ft, below flood stage; 2,110 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1982: 19.57 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 1982: 15.32 ft, minor flooding; 13,200 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1982: 12.22 ft, minor floodingMar 6, 1983: 10.91 ft, minor flooding; 2,200 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1984: 10.53 ft, minor floodingJun 25, 1984: 9.88 ft, action stage; 4,880 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1985: 9.12 ft, action stage; 4,000 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1986: 13.19 ft, minor flooding; 9,940 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1987: 19.36 ft, minor flooding; 23,000 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1988: 5.95 ft, below flood stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1990: 5.70 ft, below flood stageAug 19, 1990: 5.36 ft, below flood stage; 697 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1991: 7.29 ft, below flood stage; 1,970 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 1992: 4.93 ft, below flood stage; 543 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 1993: 10.92 ft, minor flooding; 6,040 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1994: 8.53 ft, action stage; 3,600 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1995: 13.25 ft, minor flooding; 8,460 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1996: 12.89 ft, minor floodingMar 13, 1996: 11.91 ft, minor floodingMar 25, 1997: 20.82 ft, moderate flooding; 31,100 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1997: 12.27 ft, minor floodingJun 26, 1998: 7.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,420 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1999: 12.10 ft, minor floodingAug 14, 1999: 13.13 ft, minor flooding; 9,870 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2000: 6.86 ft, below flood stage; 1,800 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2001: 11.77 ft, minor floodingJul 27, 2001: 11.06 ft, minor flooding; 6,760 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 2002: 4.36 ft, below flood stage; 484 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2003: 6.81 ft, below flood stageMar 12, 2004: 11.33 ft, minor floodingJun 8, 2005: 10.97 ft, minor floodingApr 6, 2006: 5.49 ft, below flood stage; 814 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2007: 10.67 ft, minor flooding; 5,750 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2008: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 909 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2009: 21.84 ft, moderate flooding; 30,000 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 2010: 11.44 ft, minor flooding; 7,100 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2011: 15.39 ft, minor floodingMar 22, 2011: 14.06 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2012: 6.28 ft, below flood stage; 415 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2013: 9.44 ft, action stage; 4,390 cubic feet per secondOct 15, 2013: 9.36 ft, action stage; 4,290 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2014: 14.54 ft, minor flooding; 1,000 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 2014: 11.71 ft, minor flooding; 7,820 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 2015: 8.79 ft, action stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2015: 7.90 ft, below flood stageJun 25, 2015: 8.13 ft, action stage; 2,560 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2016: 7.22 ft, below flood stageMar 22, 2017: 7.90 ft, below flood stageMar 31, 2018: 9.40 ft, action stageMar 28, 2019: 18.52 ft, minor flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2021: 17.02 ft, minor flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per second Highest, 22.30 ft, Apr 19, 1950 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cannonball River at Breien 1930s: 1 1940s: 7 1950s: 2 1960s: 3 1970s: 5 1980s: 7 1990s: 8 8 2000s: 6 2010s: 6 2020s: 1 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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. 4 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 15.42 ft on Apr 7, 1952; 10.85 ft on May 29, 1953; 11.10 ft on Mar 21, 1956; 10.95 ft on May 10, 1970.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 95 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Cannonball River at Breien
1Apr 19, 195022.30+12.30Moderate94,800
2Mar 24, 200921.84+11.84Moderate30,000
3Mar 25, 199720.82+10.82Moderate31,100
4Mar 15, 198219.57+9.57Minor—
5Mar 22, 198719.36+9.36Minor23,000
6Mar 28, 201918.52+8.52Minor21,900
7Mar 27, 194317.40+7.40Minor28,200
8Jun 9, 202117.02+7.02Minor15,800
9Mar 31, 197816.38+6.38Minor22,600
10Mar 18, 201115.39+5.39Minor—
11Apr 16, 198215.32+5.32Minor13,200
12Mar 4, 196715.02+5.02Minor7,200
13Mar 26, 194715.00+5.00Minor11,000
14Mar 17, 194814.90+4.90Minor12,500
15Mar 27, 195114.80+4.80Minor17,200
16Mar 11, 201414.54+4.54Minor1,000
17Mar 17, 196614.44+4.44Minor16,100
18Mar 16, 197214.40+4.40Minor19,400
19Jun 14, 193714.28+4.28Minor14,800
20Mar 22, 201114.06+4.06Minor12,400
21Apr 4, 196913.91+3.91Minor16,900
22Mar 13, 199513.25+3.25Minor8,460
23Mar 4, 198613.19+3.19Minor9,940
24Aug 14, 199913.13+3.13Minor9,870
25Feb 20, 199612.89+2.89Minor—
26Apr 1, 194412.45+2.45Minor10,200
27Apr 24, 199712.27+2.27Minor—
28May 24, 198212.22+2.22Minor—
29Feb 27, 199912.10+2.10Minor—
30Mar 15, 197112.00+2.00Minor—
31Mar 13, 199611.91+1.91Minor—
32Mar 15, 194511.85+1.85Minor7,000
33Mar 14, 200111.77+1.77Minor—
34Apr 11, 201411.71+1.71Minor7,820
35Jun 11, 194111.56+1.56Minor9,060
36Apr 3, 201011.44+1.44Minor7,100
37Mar 12, 200411.33+1.33Minor—
38Mar 30, 194911.10+1.10Minor8,320
39Jul 27, 200111.06+1.06Minor6,760
40Jun 8, 200510.97+0.97Minor—
41Jul 16, 199310.92+0.92Minor6,040
42Mar 6, 198310.91+0.91Minor2,200
43May 13, 197510.70+0.70Minor8,220
44Jun 8, 200710.67+0.67Minor5,750
45Mar 4, 197310.57+0.57Minor2,500
46Mar 22, 198410.53+0.53Minor—
47Jun 25, 19849.88−0.12Action4,880
48Apr 13, 19799.62−0.38Action6,770
49May 26, 20139.44−0.56Action4,390
50Mar 31, 20189.40−0.60Action—

The worst floods along the Cannonball River

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

April 19, 1950: 22.30 ft here, moderate flooding

  • RegentND · Apr 16, 1950 · 26.10 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the Cannonball River

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

Flood gauges on the Cannonball River
RegentND22.026.10 ft, Apr 16, 19501
Breien this gaugeND10.022.30 ft, Apr 19, 19500

Other gauges in Morton County

Flood gauges in Morton County
Mandan27.035.75 ft, Apr 4, 19520

Morton County: every hazard · River floods across the country · North Dakota

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BREN8, 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.