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Missouri River at Pierre

Highest listed crest 25.35 ftFlood stage 13.0 ft41 crests since 1881

The Missouri River at Pierre crested at major flood stage 5 times among the 41 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1881 to 2019. The highest, 25.35 ft on April 10, 1952, was major flooding, 12.35 feet above flood stage. 4 other gauges on the Missouri River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 2 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
25.35 ft
April 10, 1952; 440,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
13.0 ft
Major flooding from 17.0 ft
Crests at major
5
21st of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
June 22, 2011
19.83 ft, major flooding
Location
Hughes County
Near Pierre (2.4 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Missouri River at Pierre
Action stage12.07Oct 25, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)13.01Mar 24, 1948Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage15.03Apr 5, 1949Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage17.05Jun 22, 2011Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

41 crests from 1881 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Missouri River at Pierre, 1881 to 2019 51015202530ft Flood stage 13.0 ftMajor 17.0 ft Mar 1, 1881: 23.00 ft, major floodingJun 13, 1940: 9.46 ft, below flood stage; 60,800 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1941: 12.94 ft, action stage; 132,000 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1942: 10.95 ft, below flood stage; 91,900 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1943: 19.65 ft, major flooding; 281,000 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1944: 15.58 ft, moderate flooding; 191,000 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1945: 10.50 ft, below flood stage; 108,000 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1946: 10.05 ft, below flood stage; 83,000 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1947: 16.50 ft, moderate flooding; 241,000 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1948: 14.07 ft, minor flooding; 154,000 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1949: 15.00 ft, moderate flooding; 187,000 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1950: 18.44 ft, major flooding; 269,000 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1951: 12.26 ft, action stage; 127,000 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1952: 25.35 ft, major flooding; 440,000 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1953: 12.43 ft, action stage; 112,000 cubic feet per secondOct 29, 1954: 8.77 ft, below flood stage; 48,800 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1956: 11.11 ft, below flood stage; 73,900 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1957: 10.01 ft, below flood stage; 66,400 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1958: 11.04 ft, below flood stage; 65,200 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1959: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 34,600 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 1960: 7.08 ft, below flood stage; 31,800 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1961: 6.51 ft, below flood stage; 30,900 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1962: 6.14 ft, below flood stage; 30,700 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1964: 11.13 ft, below flood stage; 46,900 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1965: 11.12 ft, below flood stage; 44,900 cubic feet per secondDec 1, 1997: 12.32 ft, action stage; 56,700 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2006: 9.62 ft, below flood stageFeb 8, 2007: 9.27 ft, below flood stageJan 30, 2008: 9.90 ft, below flood stageSep 8, 2009: 9.46 ft, below flood stageSep 23, 2010: 11.11 ft, below flood stageJun 22, 2011: 19.83 ft, major floodingAug 20, 2012: 10.38 ft, below flood stageOct 6, 2012: 9.49 ft, below flood stageJan 6, 2014: 10.10 ft, below flood stageOct 4, 2014: 9.97 ft, below flood stageJan 19, 2016: 8.81 ft, below flood stageJun 27, 2017: 9.40 ft, below flood stageAug 27, 2018: 12.29 ft, action stageSep 7, 2019: 12.43 ft, action stageOct 25, 2019: 12.82 ft, action stage Highest, 25.35 ft, Apr 10, 1952 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Missouri River at Pierre 1880s: 1 1890s: 0 1900s: 0 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 5 5 1950s: 2 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 1880s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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

Highest listed crests, Missouri River at Pierre
1Apr 10, 195225.35+12.35Major440,000
2Mar 1, 188123.00+10.00Major—
3Jun 22, 201119.83+6.83Major—
4Apr 6, 194319.65+6.65Major281,000
5Apr 21, 195018.44+5.44Major269,000
6Apr 1, 194716.50+3.50Moderate241,000
7Apr 9, 194415.58+2.58Moderate191,000
8Apr 5, 194915.00+2.00Moderate187,000
9Mar 24, 194814.07+1.07Minor154,000
10Jun 13, 194112.94−0.06Action132,000
11Oct 25, 201912.82−0.18Action—
12Jun 22, 195312.43−0.57Action112,000
13Sep 7, 201912.43−0.57Action—
14Dec 1, 199712.32−0.68Action56,700
15Aug 27, 201812.29−0.71Action—
16Apr 8, 195112.26−0.74Action127,000
17Jul 20, 196411.13−1.87Below flood stage46,900
18Aug 13, 196511.12−1.88Below flood stage44,900
19Mar 24, 195611.11−1.89Below flood stage73,900
20Sep 23, 201011.11−1.89Below flood stage—
21Mar 29, 195811.04−1.96Below flood stage65,200
22Jun 11, 194210.95−2.05Below flood stage91,900
23Mar 20, 194510.50−2.50Below flood stage108,000
24Aug 20, 201210.38−2.62Below flood stage—
25Jan 6, 201410.10−2.90Below flood stage—
26Jun 20, 194610.05−2.95Below flood stage83,000
27May 27, 195710.01−2.99Below flood stage66,400
28Oct 4, 20149.97−3.03Below flood stage—
29Jan 30, 20089.90−3.10Below flood stage—
30Jun 20, 20069.62−3.38Below flood stage—
31Oct 6, 20129.49−3.51Below flood stage—
32Jun 13, 19409.46−3.54Below flood stage60,800
33Sep 8, 20099.46−3.54Below flood stage—
34Jun 27, 20179.40−3.60Below flood stage—
35Feb 8, 20079.27−3.73Below flood stage—
36Jan 19, 20168.81−4.19Below flood stage—
37Oct 29, 19548.77−4.23Below flood stage48,800
38Mar 29, 19597.20−5.80Below flood stage34,600
39Aug 9, 19607.08−5.92Below flood stage31,800
40May 7, 19616.51−6.49Below flood stage30,900
41May 10, 19626.14−6.86Below flood stage30,700

The worst floods along the Missouri River

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

April 10, 1952: 25.35 ft here, major flooding

  • DecaturNE · Apr 16, 1952 · 44.41 ft · Major · its highest
  • YanktonSD · Apr 13, 1952 · 35.50 ft · Major
  • BlairNE · Apr 17, 1952 · 33.50 ft · Major · its highest
  • BrownvilleNE · Apr 17, 1952 · 40.70 ft · Moderate

June 22, 2011: 19.83 ft here, major flooding

  • BrownvilleNE · Jun 23, 2011 · 44.79 ft · Major
  • La Framboise IslandSD · Jun 22, 2011 · 33.45 ft · Major · its highest
  • AtchisonKS · Jun 29, 2011 · 31.00 ft · Major
  • St. JosephMO · Jun 28, 2011 · 29.97 ft · Major
  • Farm IslandSD · Jun 21, 2011 · 29.52 ft · Major · its highest
  • Nebraska CityNE · Jun 28, 2011 · 28.27 ft · Major
  • RuloNE · Jun 27, 2011 · 27.26 ft · Major
  • NiobraraNE · Jun 26, 2011 · 26.76 ft · Major · its highest
  • BlairNE · Jun 29, 2011 · 32.73 ft · Moderate
  • SpringfieldSD · Jun 22, 2011 · 14.72 ft · Moderate

April 6, 1943: 19.65 ft here, major flooding

  • YanktonSD · Apr 8, 1943 · 33.60 ft · Major

Gauges on the Missouri River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Missouri River
ParkvilleMO25.035.01 ft, Mar 23, 20191
AtchisonKS22.031.63 ft, Jul 26, 19933
BoonvilleMO21.037.10 ft, Jul 29, 19931
BrownvilleNE34.045.73 ft, Mar 16, 20193
ChamberlainSD65.075.08 ft, Jul 8, 20113
DecaturNE35.044.41 ft, Apr 16, 19521
Farm IslandSD26.029.52 ft, Jun 21, 20111
Gavins Point DamNE1,210.01,212.02 ft, Mar 15, 20190
GlasgowMO25.039.50 ft, Jul 29, 199324
HermannMO21.036.97 ft, Jul 31, 19939
Highway 370 at BellevueNE30.033.78 ft, Jun 29, 20240
Highway 92 at OmahaNE27.532.90 ft, Jun 29, 20240
Jefferson CityMO23.038.65 ft, Jul 30, 199310
Kansas CityMO32.048.87 ft, Jul 27, 19930
La Framboise IslandSD29.033.45 ft, Jun 22, 20111
LeavenworthKS20.035.34 ft, Jul 28, 19933
MiamiMO18.032.60 ft, Jul 30, 19935
NapoleonMO17.029.73 ft, Jun 2, 20190
Nebraska CityNE18.030.12 ft, Mar 16, 20193
NiobraraNE21.026.76 ft, Jun 26, 20111
OmahaNE27.036.29 ft, Jul 2, 20110
Pierre this gaugeSD13.025.35 ft, Apr 10, 19525
PlattsmouthNE26.040.62 ft, Mar 16, 20193
RuloNE17.028.13 ft, Mar 20, 20193
Sioux CityNE30.035.25 ft, Jul 21, 20110
SpringfieldSD11.017.73 ft, Mar 14, 20191
St. CharlesMO25.040.11 ft, Jun 24, 18449
St. JosephMO17.032.07 ft, Jul 26, 19934
WashingtonMO20.035.40 ft, Jul 31, 19935
YanktonSD20.050.50 ft, Apr 5, 188138
BlairNE26.533.50 ft, Apr 17, 19521
ChamoisMO17.033.30 ft, Jul 31, 19931
GreenwoodSD30.038.78 ft, Jul 7, 20112
MaskellNE30.031.86 ft, Jun 29, 20110
PoncaNE20.029.15 ft, Jul 20, 20111
VerdelNE24.029.12 ft, Jun 30, 20112
WaverlyMO20.031.92 ft, Jun 1, 20193

Other gauges in Hughes County

Flood gauges in Hughes County
Farm Island26.029.52 ft, Jun 21, 20111
La Framboise Island29.033.45 ft, Jun 22, 20111

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PIRS2, 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.