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Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche

Highest listed crest 13.65 ftFlood stage 9.0 ft87 crests since 1947

The Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 87 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1947 to 2024. The highest, 13.65 ft on May 20, 1978, was major flooding, 4.65 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
13.65 ft
May 20, 1978; 28,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
9.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.0 ft
Crests at major
1
62nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
June 6, 2008
9.16 ft, minor flooding
Location
Butte County
Near Spearfish (12.2 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche
Action stage8.05May 9, 1995The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.03Jun 6, 2008Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage11.01Jun 16, 1962Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.01May 20, 1978Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

87 crests from 1947 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche, 1947 to 2024 051015ft Flood stage 9.0 ftMajor 12.0 ft Jun 22, 1947: 8.98 ft, action stage; 2,800 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1948: 5.73 ft, below flood stage; 672 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1949: 6.29 ft, below flood stage; 985 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1950: 4.83 ft, below flood stage; 340 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1951: 4.63 ft, below flood stage; 269 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1952: 6.62 ft, below flood stage; 1,120 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1953: 6.13 ft, below flood stage; 852 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1954: 4.72 ft, below flood stage; 270 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1955: 5.35 ft, below flood stage; 483 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1955: 8.35 ft, action stage; 480 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1957: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 453 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1958: 5.61 ft, below flood stage; 608 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1958: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 453 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1959: 4.56 ft, below flood stage; 246 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1960: 5.50 ft, below flood stage; 516 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1961: 4.28 ft, below flood stage; 178 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1962: 11.69 ft, moderate flooding; 16,400 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1963: 6.42 ft, below flood stage; 1,010 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1964: 8.41 ft, action stage; 2,690 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1965: 10.53 ft, minor flooding; 8,480 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1966: 5.84 ft, below flood stage; 586 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1967: 6.02 ft, below flood stage; 654 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1968: 5.16 ft, below flood stage; 310 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1969: 7.13 ft, below flood stage; 1,380 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1970: 7.68 ft, below flood stage; 1,870 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1971: 5.75 ft, below flood stage; 890 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1972: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,200 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1973: 4.77 ft, below flood stage; 1,070 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1973: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 375 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1975: 4.29 ft, below flood stage; 560 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1976: 9.11 ft, minor flooding; 6,780 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1977: 3.76 ft, below flood stage; 364 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1978: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,090 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1978: 13.65 ft, major flooding; 28,000 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1979: 3.74 ft, below flood stage; 356 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1980: 4.30 ft, below flood stage; 570 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1981: 3.36 ft, below flood stage; 211 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1982: 8.82 ft, action stage; 6,920 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1983: 4.30 ft, below flood stage; 912 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1984: 7.46 ft, below flood stage; 3,950 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 1985: 3.08 ft, below flood stage; 210 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1986: 3.37 ft, below flood stage; 435 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1987: 3.30 ft, below flood stage; 425 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1988: 3.06 ft, below flood stage; 284 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1989: 2.89 ft, below flood stage; 241 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1990: 2.90 ft, below flood stage; 214 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1991: 3.12 ft, below flood stage; 310 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1992: 2.75 ft, below flood stage; 152 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1993: 3.97 ft, below flood stage; 735 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1994: 3.65 ft, below flood stage; 460 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1995: 8.83 ft, action stage; 4,610 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1996: 4.85 ft, below flood stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1997: 5.25 ft, below flood stage; 750 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1998: 5.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondOct 17, 1998: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 1,430 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2000: 3.70 ft, below flood stage; 401 cubic feet per secondNov 1, 2000: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 548 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 2000: 5.69 ft, below flood stageJan 2, 2002: 4.41 ft, below flood stageSep 18, 2002: 3.39 ft, below flood stage; 255 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2003: 3.64 ft, below flood stage; 368 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 2004: 3.31 ft, below flood stage; 179 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2005: 3.48 ft, below flood stage; 272 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2006: 3.89 ft, below flood stage; 486 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2007: 6.91 ft, below flood stage; 2,220 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2008: 9.16 ft, minor flooding; 5,440 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2009: 5.04 ft, below flood stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2010: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,040 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2011: 6.73 ft, below flood stage; 2,610 cubic feet per secondNov 13, 2011: 3.13 ft, below flood stage; 268 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 2012: 3.32 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 2013: 7.59 ft, below flood stage; 3,930 cubic feet per secondOct 11, 2013: 6.05 ft, below flood stage; 2,210 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2015: 4.78 ft, below flood stage; 1,130 cubic feet per secondOct 23, 2015: 3.56 ft, below flood stage; 298 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2016: 3.60 ft, below flood stageJan 16, 2017: 5.29 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 2017: 3.51 ft, below flood stage; 277 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2018: 4.47 ft, below flood stage; 859 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2019: 5.36 ft, below flood stage; 1,640 cubic feet per secondJan 14, 2020: 7.71 ft, below flood stageMay 2, 2020: 4.05 ft, below flood stage; 521 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 2020: 3.45 ft, below flood stage; 249 cubic feet per secondJan 28, 2021: 3.57 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 2022: 3.92 ft, below flood stage; 578 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2023: 6.23 ft, below flood stage; 2,400 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2024: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 478 cubic feet per second Highest, 13.65 ft, May 20, 1978 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 2 2 1970s: 2 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 1 2010s: 0 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.
  3. 2 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 14.00 ft on May 1, 1922; 8.55 ft on May 31, 1946.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 87 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Redwater River (SD) above Belle Fourche
1May 20, 197813.65+4.65Major28,000
2Jun 16, 196211.69+2.69Moderate16,400
3May 15, 196510.53+1.53Minor8,480
4Jun 6, 20089.16+0.16Minor5,440
5Jun 15, 19769.11+0.11Minor6,780
6Jun 22, 19478.98−0.02Action2,800
7May 9, 19958.83−0.17Action4,610
8May 20, 19828.82−0.18Action6,920
9Jun 9, 19648.41−0.59Action2,690
10Dec 23, 19558.35−0.65Action480
11Jan 14, 20207.71−1.29Below flood stage—
12Jun 13, 19707.68−1.32Below flood stage1,870
13Jun 1, 20137.59−1.41Below flood stage3,930
14Jun 15, 19847.46−1.54Below flood stage3,950
15May 16, 19697.13−1.87Below flood stage1,380
16Jun 2, 20076.91−2.09Below flood stage2,220
17May 24, 20116.73−2.27Below flood stage2,610
18May 23, 19526.62−2.38Below flood stage1,120
19Apr 30, 19636.42−2.58Below flood stage1,010
20Mar 4, 19496.29−2.71Below flood stage985
21Jun 24, 20236.23−2.77Below flood stage2,400
22Jun 20, 19536.13−2.87Below flood stage852
23Oct 11, 20136.05−2.95Below flood stage2,210
24Jun 16, 19676.02−2.98Below flood stage654
25Jun 18, 19725.89−3.11Below flood stage1,200
26Jul 28, 19665.84−3.16Below flood stage586
27May 23, 19715.75−3.25Below flood stage890
28Jul 11, 19485.73−3.27Below flood stage672
29Dec 16, 20005.69−3.31Below flood stage—
30Jun 15, 19585.61−3.39Below flood stage608
31Mar 21, 19605.50−3.50Below flood stage516
32Jun 19, 19985.38−3.62Below flood stage1,500
33May 22, 20195.36−3.64Below flood stage1,640
34Jun 11, 19555.35−3.65Below flood stage483
35Jan 16, 20175.29−3.71Below flood stage—
36Jun 25, 19575.28−3.72Below flood stage453
37Jun 25, 19585.28−3.72Below flood stage453
38Oct 17, 19985.28−3.72Below flood stage1,430
39Jan 2, 19975.25−3.75Below flood stage750
40Jun 25, 19685.16−3.84Below flood stage310
41Mar 18, 19785.07−3.93Below flood stage1,090
42Apr 16, 20095.04−3.96Below flood stage1,170
43May 11, 20104.90−4.10Below flood stage1,040
44May 27, 19964.85−4.15Below flood stage1,170
45Apr 6, 19504.83−4.17Below flood stage340
46Jun 6, 20154.78−4.22Below flood stage1,130
47Apr 20, 19734.77−4.23Below flood stage1,070
48May 31, 19544.72−4.28Below flood stage270
49Jun 14, 19514.63−4.37Below flood stage269
50Mar 1, 19594.56−4.44Below flood stage246

Other gauges in Butte County

Flood gauges in Butte County
Wyoming-South Dakota State Line15.016.33 ft, May 10, 19950
Fruitdale12.014.32 ft, May 20, 19822
Vale2,740.02,751.66 ft, May 21, 19823

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RWRS2, 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.