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Little White River near Vetal

Highest listed crest 12.53 ftFlood stage 11.0 ft75 crests since 1960

The Little White River near Vetal crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 75 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1960 to 2024. The highest, 12.53 ft on May 16, 1991, was major flooding, 1.53 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
12.53 ft
May 16, 1991; 3,540 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
11.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.5 ft
Crests at major
2
42nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
March 24, 2019
12.53 ft, major flooding
Location
Bennett 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, Little White River near Vetal
Action stage9.01Jun 5, 1997The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)11.00—Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.52Mar 24, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

75 crests from 1960 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Little White River near Vetal, 1960 to 2024 051015ft Flood stage 11.0 ftMajor 12.5 ft Mar 24, 1960: 7.12 ft, below flood stage; 1,120 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1961: 3.39 ft, below flood stage; 192 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1962: 5.95 ft, below flood stage; 732 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1963: 4.80 ft, below flood stage; 440 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 1964: 3.84 ft, below flood stage; 213 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1965: 4.91 ft, below flood stage; 371 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1966: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 1,330 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1967: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 602 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1968: 5.17 ft, below flood stage; 451 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1969: 4.80 ft, below flood stage; 374 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1970: 4.39 ft, below flood stage; 260 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1971: 4.23 ft, below flood stage; 211 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1972: 4.04 ft, below flood stage; 171 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1973: 4.02 ft, below flood stage; 158 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1974: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 144 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1975: 5.27 ft, below flood stage; 438 cubic feet per secondSep 15, 1976: 3.96 ft, below flood stage; 152 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1977: 6.01 ft, below flood stage; 508 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1978: 8.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1979: 5.31 ft, below flood stage; 290 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1980: 4.91 ft, below flood stage; 163 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1981: 4.08 ft, below flood stage; 60 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1982: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 250 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1983: 6.94 ft, below flood stage; 794 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1984: 4.57 ft, below flood stage; 176 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1985: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 104 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1986: 7.03 ft, below flood stage; 825 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1987: 5.30 ft, below flood stage; 287 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1989: 4.50 ft, below flood stage; 140 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1989: 5.90 ft, below flood stage; 471 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1990: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 347 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1991: 12.53 ft, major flooding; 3,540 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1992: 4.33 ft, below flood stage; 113 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1993: 5.20 ft, below flood stage; 244 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1994: 8.76 ft, below flood stage; 1,040 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1995: 5.40 ft, below flood stage; 320 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1996: 5.16 ft, below flood stage; 234 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1997: 8.94 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 1997: 9.59 ft, action stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1998: 5.34 ft, below flood stage; 277 cubic feet per secondNov 21, 1998: 4.94 ft, below flood stage; 215 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2000: 5.25 ft, below flood stage; 258 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2001: 5.82 ft, below flood stage; 359 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 2002: 5.01 ft, below flood stage; 216 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2003: 4.89 ft, below flood stage; 155 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2004: 4.78 ft, below flood stage; 165 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 2005: 5.62 ft, below flood stage; 327 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2006: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 159 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 2007: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 208 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2008: 5.37 ft, below flood stage; 245 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2009: 5.66 ft, below flood stage; 248 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2010: 6.55 ft, below flood stage; 434 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2011: 8.07 ft, below flood stage; 792 cubic feet per secondJan 14, 2012: 5.91 ft, below flood stageMar 10, 2012: 5.18 ft, below flood stage; 128 cubic feet per secondDec 26, 2012: 5.61 ft, below flood stageMay 29, 2013: 5.45 ft, below flood stage; 179 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2014: 6.99 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2014: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 210 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2015: 7.34 ft, below flood stage; 558 cubic feet per secondDec 25, 2015: 5.97 ft, below flood stageApr 22, 2016: 5.87 ft, below flood stage; 204 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 2017: 6.40 ft, below flood stageMay 17, 2017: 5.80 ft, below flood stage; 184 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2018: 6.31 ft, below flood stageMar 17, 2018: 6.19 ft, below flood stage; 214 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2019: 12.53 ft, major flooding; 3,540 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 2019: 5.17 ft, below flood stageMar 7, 2020: 4.85 ft, below flood stage; 292 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2021: 5.14 ft, below flood stageMar 9, 2021: 4.66 ft, below flood stage; 201 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2022: 5.37 ft, below flood stageFeb 23, 2023: 6.18 ft, below flood stageJan 14, 2024: 6.20 ft, below flood stageFeb 7, 2024: 4.37 ft, below flood stage; 192 cubic feet per second Highest, 12.53 ft, May 16, 1991 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Little White River near Vetal 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 75 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Little White River near Vetal
1May 16, 199112.53+1.53Major3,540
2Mar 24, 201912.53+1.53Major3,540
3Jun 5, 19979.59−1.41Action1,260
4Feb 22, 19978.94−2.06Below flood stage—
5Mar 8, 19948.76−2.24Below flood stage1,040
6Mar 14, 19788.07−2.93Below flood stage1,170
7Mar 16, 20118.07−2.93Below flood stage792
8Jun 13, 19667.75−3.25Below flood stage1,330
9May 30, 20157.34−3.66Below flood stage558
10Mar 24, 19607.12−3.88Below flood stage1,120
11Mar 4, 19867.03−3.97Below flood stage825
12Mar 2, 20146.99−4.01Below flood stage—
13Aug 3, 19836.94−4.06Below flood stage794
14Mar 8, 20106.55−4.45Below flood stage434
15Feb 8, 20176.40−4.60Below flood stage—
16Mar 11, 20186.31−4.69Below flood stage—
17Jan 14, 20246.20−4.80Below flood stage—
18Mar 17, 20186.19−4.81Below flood stage214
19Feb 23, 20236.18−4.82Below flood stage—
20Apr 13, 19776.01−4.99Below flood stage508
21Dec 25, 20155.97−5.03Below flood stage—
22Jun 20, 19625.95−5.05Below flood stage732
23Jan 14, 20125.91−5.09Below flood stage—
24Mar 29, 19895.90−5.10Below flood stage471
25Jun 8, 20145.89−5.11Below flood stage210
26Apr 22, 20165.87−5.13Below flood stage204
27Jun 20, 19675.85−5.15Below flood stage602
28Jun 6, 19905.85−5.15Below flood stage347
29Mar 13, 20015.82−5.18Below flood stage359
30May 17, 20175.80−5.20Below flood stage184
31Apr 15, 20095.66−5.34Below flood stage248
32Apr 22, 20055.62−5.38Below flood stage327
33Dec 26, 20125.61−5.39Below flood stage—
34May 29, 20135.45−5.55Below flood stage179
35Jun 16, 19955.40−5.60Below flood stage320
36Jun 6, 20085.37−5.63Below flood stage245
37Feb 26, 20225.37−5.63Below flood stage—
38Apr 3, 19985.34−5.66Below flood stage277
39Jun 25, 19795.31−5.69Below flood stage290
40Mar 27, 19875.30−5.70Below flood stage287
41Apr 14, 19755.27−5.73Below flood stage438
42Mar 14, 20005.25−5.75Below flood stage258
43Mar 27, 19935.20−5.80Below flood stage244
44Mar 10, 20125.18−5.82Below flood stage128
45Jun 9, 19685.17−5.83Below flood stage451
46Nov 19, 20195.17−5.83Below flood stage—
47May 28, 19965.16−5.84Below flood stage234
48Feb 9, 20215.14−5.86Below flood stage—
49Aug 3, 20075.07−5.93Below flood stage208
50Apr 2, 20025.01−5.99Below flood stage216

The worst floods along the Little White River

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

March 24, 2019: 12.53 ft here, major flooding

  • MartinSD · Mar 23, 2019 · 14.38 ft · Major · its highest
  • RosebudSD · Mar 25, 2019 · 10.95 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Little White River

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

Flood gauges on the Little White River
MartinSD10.014.38 ft, Mar 23, 20194
Vetal this gaugeSD11.012.53 ft, May 16, 19912
RosebudSD10.014.09 ft, Jun 11, 19671
White RiverSD13.013.76 ft, Jun 3, 19970

Other gauges in Bennett County

Flood gauges in Bennett County
Martin10.014.38 ft, Mar 23, 20194

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge VTLS2, 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.