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North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte

Highest listed crest 17.00 ftFlood stage 10.0 ft76 crests since 1951

The North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 76 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1951 to 2024. The highest, 17.00 ft on April 8, 1952, was major flooding, 7.00 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
17.00 ft
April 8, 1952; 21,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.0 ft
Crests at major
3
31st of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
April 13, 2009
13.30 ft, major flooding
Location
Perkins 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, North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte
Action stage8.08Mar 24, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.01Apr 5, 1965Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage11.02Mar 21, 1997Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.03Apr 13, 2009Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

76 crests from 1951 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte, 1951 to 2024 05101520ft Flood stage 10.0 ftMajor 12.0 ft Jul 31, 1951: 6.97 ft, below flood stage; 1,450 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1952: 17.00 ft, major flooding; 21,500 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1953: 8.92 ft, action stage; 4,430 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1954: 5.55 ft, below flood stage; 689 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1955: 4.20 ft, below flood stage; 61 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1956: 5.67 ft, below flood stage; 310 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1957: 7.32 ft, below flood stage; 2,170 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1958: 4.53 ft, below flood stage; 206 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1959: 6.69 ft, below flood stage; 1,670 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1960: 6.33 ft, below flood stage; 1,320 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1961: 2.95 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1962: 5.83 ft, below flood stage; 844 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1963: 6.50 ft, below flood stage; 1,340 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1964: 9.15 ft, action stage; 5,150 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1965: 10.61 ft, minor flooding; 4,000 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1966: 7.99 ft, below flood stage; 2,200 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 6.16 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1968: 5.32 ft, below flood stage; 766 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1969: 5.25 ft, below flood stage; 788 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1970: 5.66 ft, below flood stage; 980 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1971: 7.81 ft, below flood stage; 2,750 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1972: 9.58 ft, action stage; 3,300 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1973: 3.20 ft, below flood stage; 289 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1974: 2.70 ft, below flood stage; 185 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1975: 6.14 ft, below flood stage; 1,310 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1976: 2.80 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1977: 6.78 ft, below flood stage; 1,810 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1978: 12.08 ft, major floodingMar 28, 1978: 11.63 ft, moderate flooding; 6,710 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1979: 5.68 ft, below flood stage; 920 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1980: 3.11 ft, below flood stage; 72 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1981: 3.32 ft, below flood stage; 148 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1982: 7.23 ft, below flood stage; 1,850 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1983: 5.20 ft, below flood stage; 762 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1984: 3.79 ft, below flood stage; 244 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1985: 8.10 ft, action stage; 2,200 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1986: 7.05 ft, below flood stage; 1,720 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1987: 6.01 ft, below flood stage; 1,090 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1988: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 305 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1989: 3.88 ft, below flood stage; 287 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1990: 2.03 ft, below flood stage; 52 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1991: 2.76 ft, below flood stage; 165 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1992: 3.71 ft, below flood stage; 423 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1993: 8.64 ft, action stage; 2,750 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1994: 4.30 ft, below flood stage; 471 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1995: 5.87 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1996: 5.21 ft, below flood stage; 796 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1997: 11.00 ft, moderate flooding; 4,000 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1998: 3.36 ft, below flood stage; 286 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1999: 4.73 ft, below flood stage; 770 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2000: 2.29 ft, below flood stage; 119 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2001: 7.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,950 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2002: 2.55 ft, below flood stage; 29 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2003: 3.26 ft, below flood stage; 287 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 2004: 6.96 ft, below flood stage; 2,320 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2005: 1.73 ft, below flood stage; 38 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2006: 3.77 ft, below flood stage; 430 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2007: 2.12 ft, below flood stage; 82 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2008: 2.40 ft, below flood stage; 118 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2009: 13.30 ft, major flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 2010: 3.73 ft, below flood stage; 462 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 2011: 8.55 ft, action stage; 3,400 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 2012: 2.54 ft, below flood stage; 164 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 2013: 7.22 ft, below flood stage; 2,420 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2015: 8.04 ft, action stage; 1,800 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2015: 3.21 ft, below flood stage; 330 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2017: 2.43 ft, below flood stageMar 26, 2017: 1.60 ft, below flood stage; 76 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 2018: 5.81 ft, below flood stageMar 24, 2019: 9.67 ft, action stage; 5,670 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2020: 3.11 ft, below flood stageMay 24, 2021: 1.64 ft, below flood stage; 61 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2022: 3.88 ft, below flood stage; 511 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2023: 4.86 ft, below flood stageApr 13, 2023: 3.22 ft, below flood stage; 348 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2024: 4.40 ft, below flood stage; 1,570 cubic feet per second Highest, 17.00 ft, Apr 8, 1952 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 2 2 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 1 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 76 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, North Fork Grand River (SD) near White Butte
1Apr 8, 195217.00+7.00Major21,500
2Apr 13, 200913.30+3.30Major13,000
3Mar 2, 197812.08+2.08Major—
4Mar 28, 197811.63+1.63Moderate6,710
5Mar 21, 199711.00+1.00Moderate4,000
6Apr 5, 196510.61+0.61Minor4,000
7Mar 24, 20199.67−0.33Action5,670
8Mar 10, 19729.58−0.42Action3,300
9Jun 19, 19649.15−0.85Action5,150
10Jun 21, 19538.92−1.08Action4,430
11Mar 6, 19938.64−1.36Action2,750
12Mar 19, 20118.55−1.45Action3,400
13Mar 17, 19858.10−1.90Action2,200
14Mar 11, 20158.04−1.96Action1,800
15Mar 14, 19667.99−2.01Below flood stage2,200
16Mar 14, 19717.81−2.19Below flood stage2,750
17Mar 11, 20017.38−2.62Below flood stage1,950
18Jun 24, 19577.32−2.68Below flood stage2,170
19May 21, 19827.23−2.77Below flood stage1,850
20Sep 9, 20137.22−2.78Below flood stage2,420
21Mar 9, 19867.05−2.95Below flood stage1,720
22Jul 31, 19516.97−3.03Below flood stage1,450
23Mar 10, 20046.96−3.04Below flood stage2,320
24Jun 12, 19776.78−3.22Below flood stage1,810
25Mar 21, 19596.69−3.31Below flood stage1,670
26Jun 25, 19636.50−3.50Below flood stage1,340
27Jun 11, 19606.33−3.67Below flood stage1,320
28Jun 10, 19676.16−3.84Below flood stage1,270
29May 11, 19756.14−3.86Below flood stage1,310
30Apr 6, 19876.01−3.99Below flood stage1,090
31May 19, 19955.87−4.13Below flood stage1,150
32Jul 4, 19625.83−4.17Below flood stage844
33Mar 27, 20185.81−4.19Below flood stage—
34Apr 10, 19795.68−4.32Below flood stage920
35Mar 20, 19565.67−4.33Below flood stage310
36May 7, 19705.66−4.34Below flood stage980
37Apr 8, 19545.55−4.45Below flood stage689
38Jun 21, 19685.32−4.68Below flood stage766
39Apr 2, 19695.25−4.75Below flood stage788
40Mar 14, 19965.21−4.79Below flood stage796
41Jun 23, 19835.20−4.80Below flood stage762
42Mar 29, 20234.86−5.14Below flood stage—
43Mar 2, 19994.73−5.27Below flood stage770
44Jun 13, 19584.53−5.47Below flood stage206
45May 24, 20244.40−5.60Below flood stage1,570
46Mar 12, 19944.30−5.70Below flood stage471
47Jul 8, 19554.20−5.80Below flood stage61
48Mar 28, 19883.93−6.07Below flood stage305
49Apr 29, 19893.88−6.12Below flood stage287
50Apr 28, 20223.88−6.12Below flood stage511

Other gauges in Perkins County

Flood gauges in Perkins County
Faith16.021.90 ft, Apr 9, 19443
Cash12.012.78 ft, Mar 18, 20090

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge GRAS2, 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.