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Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap

Highest listed crest 8.38 ftFlood stage 7.5 ft87 crests since 1940

The Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap crested above flood stage 10 times among the 87 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1940 to 2024. The highest, 8.38 ft on July 14, 1966, was minor flooding, 0.88 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
8.38 ft
July 14, 1966; 1,430 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.5 ft
Major flooding from 10.0 ft
Crests at major
0
10 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 12, 2019
8.02 ft, minor flooding
Location
Fall River County
South Dakota

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap
Action stage6.013Sep 30, 2014The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.510Mar 12, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage8.50—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage10.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

87 crests from 1940 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap, 1940 to 2024 246810ft Flood stage 7.5 ftMajor 10.0 ft Apr 27, 1940: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 116 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1941: 6.41 ft, action stage; 856 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1942: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 91 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1943: 4.31 ft, below flood stage; 96 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1944: 3.61 ft, below flood stage; 23 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1945: 3.97 ft, below flood stage; 64 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1946: 4.25 ft, below flood stage; 102 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1947: 7.36 ft, action stage; 1,240 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1948: 3.36 ft, below flood stage; 25 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1949: 3.34 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1950: 3.81 ft, below flood stage; 38 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 1951: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 85 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1952: 4.01 ft, below flood stage; 51 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1954: 6.25 ft, action stage; 670 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1955: 3.39 ft, below flood stage; 13 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1957: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 432 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 1958: 6.06 ft, action stage; 381 cubic feet per secondAug 2, 1959: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 83 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 1959: 3.67 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1960: 4.17 ft, below flood stageDec 24, 1960: 3.67 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1962: 6.54 ft, action stage; 601 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1963: 8.36 ft, minor flooding; 1,440 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1964: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 304 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1965: 5.87 ft, below flood stage; 308 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1966: 8.38 ft, minor flooding; 1,430 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1967: 5.09 ft, below flood stage; 109 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1968: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 111 cubic feet per secondJul 17, 1969: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 340 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1970: 4.04 ft, below flood stage; 15 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1971: 6.04 ft, action stage; 340 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1972: 7.09 ft, action stage; 829 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1973: 3.87 ft, below flood stage; 13 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1974: 4.16 ft, below flood stage; 16 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1975: 7.27 ft, action stage; 861 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1976: 7.80 ft, minor flooding; 660 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 1977: 4.15 ft, below flood stage; 16 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1978: 6.16 ft, action stage; 157 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 1979: 6.40 ft, action stage; 192 cubic feet per secondOct 29, 1979: 5.36 ft, below flood stage; 15 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1980: 4.91 ft, below flood stage; 14 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1982: 4.62 ft, below flood stage; 19 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 1982: 4.23 ft, below flood stage; 12 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1984: 4.50 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1984: 4.20 ft, below flood stage; 13 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1986: 4.91 ft, below flood stage; 31 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1987: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 56 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1989: 4.65 ft, below flood stage; 18 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1990: 4.56 ft, below flood stage; 12 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1991: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 97 cubic feet per secondSep 8, 1992: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 23 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1993: 5.01 ft, below flood stage; 49 cubic feet per secondNov 25, 1993: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 17 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1995: 6.25 ft, action stage; 203 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 1995: 4.18 ft, below flood stage; 14 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 1997: 7.62 ft, minor flooding; 216 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1998: 5.41 ft, below flood stage; 43 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1999: 6.41 ft, action stage; 115 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 2000: 4.69 ft, below flood stage; 32 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 2001: 5.70 ft, below flood stage; 71 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2002: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 22 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 2003: 4.29 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2004: 4.65 ft, below flood stage; 29 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2005: 7.66 ft, minor flooding; 211 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 2006: 5.16 ft, below flood stage; 46 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2007: 5.02 ft, below flood stage; 41 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2008: 7.74 ft, minor flooding; 219 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2009: 4.43 ft, below flood stage; 23 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2010: 8.21 ft, minor flooding; 206 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2011: 5.93 ft, below flood stage; 45 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 2012: 4.39 ft, below flood stageMay 5, 2012: 4.06 ft, below flood stage; 16 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 2013: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 27 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 2014: 6.44 ft, action stage; 108 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2015: 7.83 ft, minor flooding; 229 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2016: 4.46 ft, below flood stage; 23 cubic feet per secondDec 28, 2016: 5.18 ft, below flood stageMar 5, 2018: 7.68 ft, minor floodingJun 20, 2018: 5.69 ft, below flood stage; 69 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2019: 8.02 ft, minor flooding; 250 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 2019: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 22 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 2021: 4.87 ft, below flood stageMay 24, 2021: 4.46 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2022: 4.60 ft, below flood stage; 17 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2023: 4.82 ft, below flood stageJun 27, 2023: 4.66 ft, below flood stage; 18 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 2024: 5.24 ft, below flood stage Highest, 8.38 ft, Jul 14, 1966 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 2 1970s: 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 2 2010s: 4 4 2020s: 0 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.
  3. 2 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 16.46 ft on Sep 4, 1938; 4.90 ft on Jun 21, 1939.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 87 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Beaver Creek (SD) near Buffalo Gap
1Jul 14, 19668.38+0.88Minor1,430
2Jun 7, 19638.36+0.86Minor1,440
3May 24, 20108.21+0.71Minor206
4Mar 12, 20198.02+0.52Minor250
5May 25, 20157.83+0.33Minor229
6Jul 31, 19767.80+0.30Minor660
7Jul 18, 20087.74+0.24Minor219
8Mar 5, 20187.68+0.18Minor—
9May 7, 20057.66+0.16Minor211
10Jul 29, 19977.62+0.12Minor216
11Jun 20, 19477.36−0.14Action1,240
12Jul 24, 19757.27−0.23Action861
13Jun 10, 19727.09−0.41Action829
14Jul 13, 19626.54−0.96Action601
15Sep 30, 20146.44−1.06Action108
16Apr 13, 19416.41−1.09Action856
17Jun 19, 19996.41−1.09Action115
18Jul 23, 19796.40−1.10Action192
19Aug 20, 19546.25−1.25Action670
20Jul 3, 19956.25−1.25Action203
21Mar 10, 19786.16−1.34Action157
22Jul 30, 19586.06−1.44Action381
23May 4, 19716.04−1.46Action340
24Mar 11, 20115.93−1.57Below flood stage45
25Jul 17, 19695.89−1.61Below flood stage340
26May 24, 19655.87−1.63Below flood stage308
27Jun 16, 19645.78−1.72Below flood stage304
28Jun 3, 19915.78−1.72Below flood stage97
29Jul 9, 20015.70−1.80Below flood stage71
30Jun 20, 20185.69−1.81Below flood stage69
31Jun 13, 19575.59−1.91Below flood stage432
32Jul 25, 19985.41−2.09Below flood stage43
33Oct 29, 19795.36−2.14Below flood stage15
34May 27, 19875.28−2.22Below flood stage56
35Jan 16, 20245.24−2.26Below flood stage—
36Dec 28, 20165.18−2.32Below flood stage—
37Jul 2, 20065.16−2.34Below flood stage46
38Jun 7, 19685.10−2.40Below flood stage111
39Jun 23, 19675.09−2.41Below flood stage109
40Jul 18, 20075.02−2.48Below flood stage41
41Aug 20, 19935.01−2.49Below flood stage49
42Oct 20, 19804.91−2.59Below flood stage14
43Apr 26, 19864.91−2.59Below flood stage31
44Feb 12, 20214.87−2.63Below flood stage—
45Feb 23, 20234.82−2.68Below flood stage—
46Apr 20, 20004.69−2.81Below flood stage32
47Sep 7, 19514.68−2.82Below flood stage85
48Mar 9, 20024.68−2.82Below flood stage22
49Jul 8, 20134.68−2.82Below flood stage27
50Jun 27, 20234.66−2.84Below flood stage18

Other gauges in Fall River County

Flood gauges in Fall River County
Edgemont9.014.00 ft, May 1, 19223
Hot Springs45.048.39 ft, Aug 9, 20140
Hot Springs4.511.12 ft, Jun 20, 19472
Edgemont16.021.19 ft, Jun 6, 20150
Oelrichs16.016.31 ft, May 25, 20100

Fall River County: every hazard · River floods across the country · South Dakota

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BEAS2, 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.