Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls

Highest listed crest 18.23 ftFlood stage 11.5 ft51 crests since 1973

The Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 51 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1973 to 2025. The highest, 18.23 ft on March 14, 2019, was major flooding, 6.73 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Skunk Creek crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
18.23 ft
March 14, 2019; 8,560 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
11.5 ft
Major flooding from 18.0 ft
Crests at major
1
62nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
June 22, 2024
16.53 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Minnehaha County
Near Sioux Falls (3.0 mi), Harrisburg (7.9 mi), Brandon (11.1 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls
Action stage9.58Mar 17, 2011The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)11.56Sep 21, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage14.02Jun 22, 2024Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage18.01Mar 14, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

51 crests from 1973 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls, 1973 to 2025 05101520ft Flood stage 11.5 ftMajor 18.0 ft Mar 6, 1973: 8.18 ft, below flood stage; 1,850 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1974: 4.27 ft, below flood stageAug 21, 1975: 3.53 ft, below flood stage; 131 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1976: 4.26 ft, below flood stage; 302 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1977: 4.41 ft, below flood stage; 150 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1978: 10.02 ft, action stage; 2,700 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1979: 11.81 ft, minor flooding; 4,230 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1980: 4.82 ft, below flood stage; 450 cubic feet per secondAug 25, 1981: 2.91 ft, below flood stageSep 1, 1982: 9.58 ft, action stage; 2,250 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1983: 10.62 ft, action stage; 3,580 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1984: 15.54 ft, moderate flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1985: 10.00 ft, action stage; 3,750 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1986: 10.23 ft, action stage; 3,980 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1987: 6.27 ft, below flood stage; 1,470 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1988: 3.24 ft, below flood stage; 272 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1989: 4.60 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1990: 5.32 ft, below flood stage; 976 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1991: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 435 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1992: 4.49 ft, below flood stage; 1,180 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1993: 10.81 ft, action stage; 8,640 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1994: 6.98 ft, below flood stage; 3,740 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1995: 6.75 ft, below flood stage; 3,520 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1996: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1997: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 2,790 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1998: 2.82 ft, below flood stage; 794 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1999: 4.51 ft, below flood stage; 1,750 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 2000: 2.84 ft, below flood stage; 749 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 2001: 9.27 ft, below flood stage; 5,860 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2004: 13.10 ft, minor flooding; 5,450 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2005: 5.80 ft, below flood stage; 564 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2006: 13.21 ft, minor flooding; 6,380 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2007: 10.16 ft, action stage; 2,700 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2008: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 1,090 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2009: 6.14 ft, below flood stage; 543 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2010: 12.96 ft, minor flooding; 5,710 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2011: 11.22 ft, action stage; 3,500 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2012: 7.57 ft, below flood stage; 1,280 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2013: 9.24 ft, below flood stage; 2,680 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2014: 9.46 ft, below flood stage; 2,820 cubic feet per secondAug 27, 2015: 12.31 ft, minor flooding; 6,430 cubic feet per secondSep 15, 2016: 7.74 ft, below flood stage; 1,420 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 2017: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 969 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 2018: 12.50 ft, minor floodingMar 14, 2019: 18.23 ft, major flooding; 8,560 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2020: 7.54 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 2021: 7.96 ft, below flood stage; 1,490 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 2022: 5.92 ft, below flood stage; 682 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 2023: 7.52 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2024: 16.53 ft, moderate flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2025: 4.98 ft, below flood stage; 402 cubic feet per second Highest, 18.23 ft, Mar 14, 2019 19801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls 1970s: 1 1980s: 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 2 2010s: 4 4 2020s: 1 1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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. 6 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 12.16 ft on Mar 29, 1952; 17.78 ft on Jun 17, 1957; 13.64 ft on Mar 30, 1960; 12.43 ft on Mar 28, 1962; 13.24 ft on Apr 6, 1969; 7.35 ft on May 1, 1972.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 51 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Skunk Creek at Sioux Falls
1Mar 14, 201918.23+6.73Major8,560
2Jun 22, 202416.53+5.03Moderate9,800
3Jun 21, 198415.54+4.04Moderate11,000
4Apr 7, 200613.21+1.71Minor6,380
5May 30, 200413.10+1.60Minor5,450
6Jul 30, 201012.96+1.46Minor5,710
7Sep 21, 201812.50+1.00Minor—
8Aug 27, 201512.31+0.81Minor6,430
9Mar 22, 197911.81+0.31Minor4,230
10Mar 17, 201111.22−0.28Action3,500
11Jul 11, 199310.81−0.69Action8,640
12Mar 7, 198310.62−0.88Action3,580
13Jun 23, 198610.23−1.27Action3,980
14Mar 12, 200710.16−1.34Action2,700
15Mar 19, 197810.02−1.48Action2,700
16Apr 23, 198510.00−1.50Action3,750
17Sep 1, 19829.58−1.92Action2,250
18Jun 19, 20149.46−2.04Below flood stage2,820
19Apr 23, 20019.27−2.23Below flood stage5,860
20May 26, 20139.24−2.26Below flood stage2,680
21Mar 6, 19738.18−3.32Below flood stage1,850
22Aug 28, 20217.96−3.54Below flood stage1,490
23Sep 15, 20167.74−3.76Below flood stage1,420
24May 9, 20127.57−3.93Below flood stage1,280
25Mar 29, 20207.54−3.96Below flood stage1,270
26Apr 9, 20237.52−3.98Below flood stage1,400
27Jun 6, 20087.30−4.20Below flood stage1,090
28Aug 21, 20177.00−4.50Below flood stage969
29Mar 5, 19946.98−4.52Below flood stage3,740
30Apr 18, 19956.75−4.75Below flood stage3,520
31Mar 26, 19876.27−5.23Below flood stage1,470
32Jun 26, 20096.14−5.36Below flood stage543
33Aug 7, 20225.92−5.58Below flood stage682
34Mar 29, 19975.85−5.65Below flood stage2,790
35Jun 5, 20055.80−5.70Below flood stage564
36Jun 28, 19905.32−6.18Below flood stage976
37Jun 27, 20254.98−6.52Below flood stage402
38Jun 6, 19804.82−6.68Below flood stage450
39Mar 10, 19894.60−6.90Below flood stage200
40May 6, 19994.51−6.99Below flood stage1,750
41Aug 10, 19924.49−7.01Below flood stage1,180
42Feb 10, 19964.45−7.05Below flood stage1,000
43Mar 12, 19774.41−7.09Below flood stage150
44Feb 23, 19744.27−7.23Below flood stage—
45Mar 18, 19764.26−7.24Below flood stage302
46Jun 22, 19913.85−7.65Below flood stage435
47Aug 21, 19753.53−7.97Below flood stage131
48Mar 11, 19883.24−8.26Below flood stage272
49Aug 25, 19812.91−8.59Below flood stage—
50May 18, 20002.84−8.66Below flood stage749

The worst floods along the Skunk Creek

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

March 14, 2019: 18.23 ft here, major flooding

  • HartfordSD · Mar 14, 2019 · 15.08 ft · Moderate · its highest

June 22, 2024: 16.53 ft here, moderate flooding

  • HartfordSD · Jun 21, 2024 · 12.65 ft · Moderate
  • ChesterSD · Jun 23, 2024 · 7.07 ft · Minor

April 7, 2006: 13.21 ft here, minor flooding

  • HartfordSD · Apr 7, 2006 · 11.59 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Skunk Creek

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

Flood gauges on the Skunk Creek
ChesterSD7.07.45 ft, Jul 10, 20110
HartfordSD10.015.08 ft, Mar 14, 20190
Sioux Falls this gaugeSD11.518.23 ft, Mar 14, 20191

Other gauges in Minnehaha County

Flood gauges in Minnehaha County
Dell Rapids1,481.01,490.00 ft, Sep 13, 20192
Sioux Falls I-9012.018.91 ft, Sep 14, 20191
Sioux Falls N. Cliff Avenue16.026.08 ft, Sep 14, 20190
Sioux Falls Western Avenue8.016.90 ft, Mar 14, 20194
Brandon1,304.01,313.53 ft, Sep 14, 20192
Dell Rapids12.016.70 ft, Sep 13, 201910
Sioux Falls6.09.63 ft, Sep 14, 20190
Hartford10.015.08 ft, Mar 14, 20190
Corson8.519.01 ft, Sep 12, 20194
Crooks9.012.65 ft, Mar 14, 20190

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SIFS2, 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.