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Keyapaha River at Wewala

Highest listed crest 13.50 ftFlood stage 10.0 ft81 crests since 1939

The Keyapaha River at Wewala crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 81 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1939 to 2024. The highest, 13.50 ft on March 25, 1950, was major flooding, 3.50 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
13.50 ft
March 25, 1950; 2,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.0 ft
Major flooding from 13.0 ft
Crests at major
2
42nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
March 24, 1960
10.56 ft, minor flooding
Location
Tripp 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, Keyapaha River at Wewala
Action stage8.04Mar 22, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.01Mar 24, 1960Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage13.02Mar 31, 1952Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

81 crests from 1939 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Keyapaha River at Wewala, 1939 to 2024 051015ft Flood stage 10.0 ftMajor 13.0 ft Mar 16, 1939: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 378 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1940: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 239 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1950: 13.50 ft, major flooding; 2,500 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1951: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 262 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1952: 13.08 ft, major flooding; 5,430 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1953: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,020 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1954: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 400 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 1955: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,880 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1956: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 460 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1957: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,160 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1958: 4.18 ft, below flood stage; 673 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1959: 3.78 ft, below flood stage; 497 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1960: 10.56 ft, minor flooding; 4,210 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1961: 2.24 ft, below flood stage; 156 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1962: 8.53 ft, action stage; 2,950 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1963: 2.96 ft, below flood stage; 296 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1964: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 539 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1965: 3.14 ft, below flood stage; 383 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1966: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,750 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1967: 4.55 ft, below flood stage; 960 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1968: 3.32 ft, below flood stage; 492 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1969: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1970: 3.16 ft, below flood stage; 401 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1971: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 600 cubic feet per secondJul 17, 1972: 4.41 ft, below flood stage; 803 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1973: 3.60 ft, below flood stage; 556 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1974: 2.47 ft, below flood stage; 212 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1975: 2.97 ft, below flood stage; 328 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1976: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 86 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1977: 5.65 ft, below flood stage; 1,380 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1978: 8.00 ft, action stage; 2,600 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1979: 4.11 ft, below flood stage; 7,007 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1980: 2.26 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1981: 4.20 ft, below flood stage; 711 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1982: 6.20 ft, below flood stage; 1,700 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1983: 5.35 ft, below flood stage; 1,240 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1984: 4.86 ft, below flood stage; 1,120 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1985: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 230 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1986: 4.06 ft, below flood stage; 727 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1987: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1988: 5.13 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1989: 2.78 ft, below flood stage; 240 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1990: 3.28 ft, below flood stage; 486 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1991: 4.59 ft, below flood stage; 807 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1992: 2.51 ft, below flood stage; 248 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1993: 7.96 ft, below flood stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1994: 9.67 ft, action stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1996: 5.84 ft, below flood stage; 1,480 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1997: 7.87 ft, below flood stage; 2,530 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1998: 4.58 ft, below flood stage; 935 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1999: 5.26 ft, below flood stage; 1,300 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 2000: 3.77 ft, below flood stage; 591 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2001: 6.75 ft, below flood stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 2002: 3.77 ft, below flood stage; 532 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2003: 3.04 ft, below flood stage; 331 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 2004: 3.73 ft, below flood stage; 576 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2005: 4.42 ft, below flood stage; 707 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 2006: 3.35 ft, below flood stage; 353 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2007: 7.23 ft, below flood stage; 2,200 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2008: 6.17 ft, below flood stage; 1,410 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2009: 4.12 ft, below flood stageApr 13, 2009: 3.80 ft, below flood stage; 485 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2010: 5.60 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2011: 7.67 ft, below flood stage; 1,300 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2012: 3.36 ft, below flood stage; 270 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2013: 3.87 ft, below flood stage; 457 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2014: 4.59 ft, below flood stage; 587 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 2015: 3.72 ft, below flood stage; 390 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2016: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 1,210 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2017: 6.03 ft, below flood stageMay 21, 2017: 4.36 ft, below flood stage; 660 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2018: 6.24 ft, below flood stageApr 22, 2018: 5.21 ft, below flood stage; 985 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2019: 9.90 ft, action stage; 4,630 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2020: 7.32 ft, below flood stage; 2,500 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2021: 3.38 ft, below flood stage; 432 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 2022: 4.79 ft, below flood stageMay 1, 2022: 4.13 ft, below flood stage; 386 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2023: 4.84 ft, below flood stage; 878 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2024: 7.66 ft, below flood stageJun 21, 2024: 5.58 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per second Highest, 13.50 ft, Mar 25, 1950 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Keyapaha River at Wewala 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 2 2 1960s: 1 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 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.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 81 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Keyapaha River at Wewala
1Mar 25, 195013.50+3.50Major2,500
2Mar 31, 195213.08+3.08Major5,430
3Mar 24, 196010.56+0.56Minor4,210
4Mar 22, 20199.90−0.10Action4,630
5Mar 4, 19949.67−0.33Action2,000
6May 15, 19628.53−1.47Action2,950
7Mar 19, 19788.00−2.00Action2,600
8Mar 9, 19937.96−2.04Below flood stage2,000
9Feb 20, 19977.87−2.13Below flood stage2,530
10Mar 14, 20117.67−2.33Below flood stage1,300
11Feb 6, 20247.66−2.34Below flood stage—
12Jun 18, 20207.32−2.68Below flood stage2,500
13May 7, 20077.23−2.77Below flood stage2,200
14Mar 15, 20016.75−3.25Below flood stage1,000
15Mar 5, 20186.24−3.76Below flood stage—
16Jun 16, 19826.20−3.80Below flood stage1,700
17Jun 7, 20086.17−3.83Below flood stage1,410
18Feb 14, 20176.03−3.97Below flood stage—
19May 29, 19965.84−4.16Below flood stage1,480
20May 23, 20165.78−4.22Below flood stage1,210
21Jun 12, 19775.65−4.35Below flood stage1,380
22Jun 15, 20105.60−4.40Below flood stage1,270
23Mar 21, 19875.59−4.41Below flood stage1,400
24Jun 21, 20245.58−4.42Below flood stage1,250
25Jun 23, 19835.35−4.65Below flood stage1,240
26May 12, 19995.26−4.74Below flood stage1,300
27Apr 22, 20185.21−4.79Below flood stage985
28May 23, 19885.13−4.87Below flood stage1,150
29Apr 14, 19844.86−5.14Below flood stage1,120
30Jun 24, 20234.84−5.16Below flood stage878
31Jan 25, 20224.79−5.21Below flood stage—
32Jun 6, 19914.59−5.41Below flood stage807
33Jun 6, 20144.59−5.41Below flood stage587
34Jun 25, 19984.58−5.42Below flood stage935
35Jun 16, 19674.55−5.45Below flood stage960
36Jun 14, 20054.42−5.58Below flood stage707
37Jul 17, 19724.41−5.59Below flood stage803
38May 21, 20174.36−5.64Below flood stage660
39Jul 2, 19814.20−5.80Below flood stage711
40Jul 27, 19584.18−5.82Below flood stage673
41May 1, 20224.13−5.87Below flood stage386
42Feb 20, 20094.12−5.88Below flood stage—
43Jun 17, 19794.11−5.89Below flood stage7,007
44Jun 11, 19864.06−5.94Below flood stage727
45May 21, 20133.87−6.13Below flood stage457
46Apr 28, 19643.85−6.15Below flood stage539
47Apr 13, 20093.80−6.20Below flood stage485
48May 29, 19593.78−6.22Below flood stage497
49Jul 6, 20003.77−6.23Below flood stage591
50Mar 31, 20023.77−6.23Below flood stage532

The worst floods along the Keyapaha River

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

March 31, 1952: 13.08 ft here, major flooding

  • KeyapahaSD · Apr 1, 1952 · 13.70 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the Keyapaha River

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

Flood gauges on the Keyapaha River
KeyapahaSD10.013.70 ft, Apr 1, 19521
Wewala this gaugeSD10.013.50 ft, Mar 25, 19502

Other gauges in Tripp County

Flood gauges in Tripp County
Keyapaha10.013.70 ft, Apr 1, 19521

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WEWS2, 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.