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Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale

Highest listed crest 14.32 ftFlood stage 12.0 ft82 crests since 1946

The Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 82 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1946 to 2024. The highest, 14.32 ft on May 20, 1982, was major flooding, 2.32 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Belle Fourche River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
14.32 ft
May 20, 1982; 12,700 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
12.0 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
2
42nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
May 22, 2019
12.20 ft, minor flooding
Location
Butte County
Near Spearfish (14.3 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale
Action stage10.05Jun 2, 2013The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)12.02May 22, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.02May 24, 2011Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.02May 10, 1995Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

82 crests from 1946 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale, 1946 to 2024 051015ft Flood stage 12.0 ftMajor 14.0 ft Jun 1, 1946: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 5,710 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1947: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 7,460 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1948: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,720 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1949: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,280 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1950: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,530 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 1951: 5.66 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1952: 6.10 ft, below flood stage; 2,280 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1953: 7.83 ft, below flood stage; 4,070 cubic feet per secondNov 26, 1953: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 110 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1955: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 597 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1955: 4.36 ft, below flood stage; 320 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 1957: 3.92 ft, below flood stage; 144 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1958: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 183 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1958: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 13 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1960: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,530 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 1961: 3.64 ft, below flood stage; 7 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1962: 11.25 ft, action stage; 7,840 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1963: 5.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,580 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1964: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 3,030 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1965: 10.53 ft, action stage; 8,100 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1966: 5.65 ft, below flood stage; 1,560 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1967: 5.66 ft, below flood stage; 1,560 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1968: 3.72 ft, below flood stage; 40 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1969: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,350 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1970: 7.57 ft, below flood stage; 3,570 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1971: 7.19 ft, below flood stage; 2,770 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1972: 9.42 ft, below flood stage; 6,270 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1973: 7.23 ft, below flood stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1974: 5.11 ft, below flood stage; 1,210 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1975: 6.39 ft, below flood stage; 2,190 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1976: 13.18 ft, moderate flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1977: 2.83 ft, below flood stage; 74 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1978: 9.03 ft, below flood stage; 3,780 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1979: 3.66 ft, below flood stage; 248 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1980: 4.75 ft, below flood stage; 634 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1981: 6.40 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1982: 14.32 ft, major flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1982: 6.18 ft, below flood stage; 978 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1984: 9.73 ft, below flood stage; 4,330 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1985: 3.29 ft, below flood stage; 23 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1986: 5.51 ft, below flood stage; 810 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1987: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 862 cubic feet per secondNov 16, 1987: 3.64 ft, below flood stage; 191 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1989: 2.48 ft, below flood stage; 30 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1990: 6.17 ft, below flood stage; 1,280 cubic feet per secondOct 31, 1990: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 470 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1992: 2.28 ft, below flood stage; 22 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1993: 9.72 ft, below flood stage; 3,890 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1994: 6.18 ft, below flood stage; 1,240 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1995: 14.09 ft, major flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1996: 10.10 ft, action stage; 5,180 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1997: 7.82 ft, below flood stage; 2,600 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1998: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 2,200 cubic feet per secondOct 17, 1998: 8.76 ft, below flood stage; 3,520 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 2000: 4.81 ft, below flood stage; 666 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2001: 6.84 ft, below flood stage; 1,840 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2002: 2.96 ft, below flood stage; 144 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2003: 5.23 ft, below flood stage; 807 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 2004: 3.31 ft, below flood stage; 212 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 2004: 3.26 ft, below flood stage; 201 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2006: 4.38 ft, below flood stage; 496 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2007: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 1,310 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2008: 12.95 ft, minor flooding; 8,700 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2009: 10.26 ft, action stage; 4,090 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2010: 8.73 ft, below flood stage; 2,630 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2011: 13.84 ft, moderate flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 2012: 4.11 ft, below flood stageMar 18, 2012: 3.92 ft, below flood stage; 411 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2013: 10.40 ft, action stage; 4,290 cubic feet per secondOct 11, 2013: 7.84 ft, below flood stage; 2,100 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2014: 8.65 ft, below flood stageJun 21, 2015: 9.31 ft, below flood stage; 3,230 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 2016: 6.17 ft, below flood stageAug 7, 2016: 3.92 ft, below flood stage; 426 cubic feet per secondOct 6, 2016: 1.93 ft, below flood stage; 34 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 2018: 8.19 ft, below flood stage; 2,310 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2019: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 7,000 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2020: 6.55 ft, below flood stage; 1,560 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2021: 5.15 ft, below flood stageJun 14, 2022: 5.08 ft, below flood stage; 912 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2023: 9.69 ft, below flood stage; 3,560 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2024: 5.47 ft, below flood stage; 1,090 cubic feet per second Highest, 14.32 ft, May 20, 1982 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 1 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 1 2010s: 2 2 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.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 82 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Belle Fourche River near Fruitdale
1May 20, 198214.32+2.32Major12,700
2May 10, 199514.09+2.09Major12,200
3May 24, 201113.84+1.84Moderate10,400
4Jun 15, 197613.18+1.18Moderate12,200
5Jun 6, 200812.95+0.95Minor8,700
6May 22, 201912.20+0.20Minor7,000
7Jun 16, 196211.25−0.75Action7,840
8May 15, 196510.53−1.47Action8,100
9Jun 2, 201310.40−1.60Action4,290
10Apr 14, 200910.26−1.74Action4,090
11Mar 15, 199610.10−1.90Action5,180
12Jun 20, 19849.73−2.27Below flood stage4,330
13Jun 30, 19939.72−2.28Below flood stage3,890
14Jun 24, 20239.69−2.31Below flood stage3,560
15Jun 19, 19729.42−2.58Below flood stage6,270
16Jun 21, 20159.31−2.69Below flood stage3,230
17May 8, 19789.03−2.97Below flood stage3,780
18Oct 17, 19988.76−3.24Below flood stage3,520
19May 11, 20108.73−3.27Below flood stage2,630
20Mar 9, 20148.65−3.35Below flood stage—
21Jun 30, 20188.19−3.81Below flood stage2,310
22Oct 11, 20137.84−4.16Below flood stage2,100
23Aug 6, 19537.83−4.17Below flood stage4,070
24Mar 22, 19977.82−4.18Below flood stage2,600
25May 15, 19707.57−4.43Below flood stage3,570
26Jun 19, 19987.40−4.60Below flood stage2,200
27Jun 9, 19647.30−4.70Below flood stage3,030
28Apr 21, 19737.23−4.77Below flood stage3,110
29Apr 22, 19717.19−4.81Below flood stage2,770
30May 4, 19697.00−5.00Below flood stage2,350
31Apr 7, 20016.84−5.16Below flood stage1,840
32Jun 2, 20076.70−5.30Below flood stage1,310
33May 17, 20206.55−5.45Below flood stage1,560
34Jul 26, 19816.40−5.60Below flood stage1,460
35May 12, 19756.39−5.61Below flood stage2,190
36Oct 10, 19826.18−5.82Below flood stage978
37May 1, 19946.18−5.82Below flood stage1,240
38May 26, 19906.17−5.83Below flood stage1,280
39Jan 7, 20166.17−5.83Below flood stage—
40Mar 31, 19526.10−5.90Below flood stage2,280
41Apr 30, 19635.72−6.28Below flood stage1,580
42Sep 7, 19515.66−6.34Below flood stage1,680
43Jun 17, 19675.66−6.34Below flood stage1,560
44Mar 17, 19665.65−6.35Below flood stage1,560
45Apr 9, 19875.59−6.41Below flood stage862
46May 10, 19865.51−6.49Below flood stage810
47May 15, 20245.47−6.53Below flood stage1,090
48Mar 17, 20035.23−6.77Below flood stage807
49Feb 7, 20215.15−6.85Below flood stage—
50Apr 14, 19745.11−6.89Below flood stage1,210

The worst floods along the Belle Fourche River

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

May 20, 1982: 14.32 ft here, major flooding

  • SturgisSD · May 21, 1982 · 19.10 ft · Major
  • Elm SpringsSD · May 21, 1982 · 22.22 ft · Moderate

May 10, 1995: 14.09 ft here, major flooding

May 24, 2011: 13.84 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Belle Fourche River

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

Flood gauges on the Belle Fourche River
MoorcroftWY13.014.60 ft, May 19, 19780
AlvaWY5.08.54 ft, May 23, 20111
Wyoming-South Dakota State LineSD15.016.33 ft, May 10, 19950
Fruitdale this gaugeSD12.014.32 ft, May 20, 19822
SturgisSD15.020.10 ft, Jun 6, 20082
Elm SpringsSD19.025.80 ft, May 5, 19272

Other gauges in Butte County

Flood gauges in Butte County
Wyoming-South Dakota State Line15.016.33 ft, May 10, 19950
Vale2,740.02,751.66 ft, May 21, 19823
Belle Fourche9.013.65 ft, May 20, 19781

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FRUS2, 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.