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Skunk Creek near Chester

Highest listed crest 7.45 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft28 crests since 1984

The Skunk Creek near Chester crested above flood stage 3 times among the 28 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1984 to 2025. The highest, 7.45 ft on July 10, 2011, was minor flooding, 0.45 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
7.45 ft
July 10, 2011; 1,270 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
Major flooding from 11.0 ft
Crests at major
0
3 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
June 23, 2024
7.07 ft, minor flooding
Location
Moody 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, Skunk Creek near Chester
Action stage6.06Mar 18, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.03Jun 23, 2024Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage9.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage11.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

28 crests from 1984 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Skunk Creek near Chester, 1984 to 2025 024681012ft Flood stage 7.0 ftMajor 11.0 ft Aug 16, 1984: 2.95 ft, below flood stage; 29 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1985: 6.71 ft, action stage; 898 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 1986: 6.95 ft, action stage; 1,060 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1987: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 455 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2002: 3.72 ft, below flood stage; 150 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 2003: 3.31 ft, below flood stage; 116 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2004: 4.18 ft, below flood stage; 119 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2005: 4.07 ft, below flood stage; 183 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2006: 4.88 ft, below flood stage; 296 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2007: 6.40 ft, action stage; 700 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2008: 3.65 ft, below flood stage; 161 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2009: 3.26 ft, below flood stage; 129 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2010: 6.44 ft, action stage; 797 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2011: 7.45 ft, minor flooding; 1,270 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2012: 6.50 ft, action stage; 1,100 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 2013: 2.21 ft, below flood stage; 78 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2014: 3.33 ft, below flood stage; 186 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 2015: 4.35 ft, below flood stage; 263 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2016: 3.94 ft, below flood stage; 139 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2017: 2.77 ft, below flood stage; 118 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2019: 6.99 ft, action stageSep 12, 2019: 7.37 ft, minor flooding; 1,890 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2020: 4.74 ft, below flood stage; 393 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2021: 2.25 ft, below flood stage; 67 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2022: 1.90 ft, below flood stage; 41 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 2023: 4.47 ft, below flood stage; 183 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2024: 7.07 ft, minor flooding; 1,130 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2025: 2.07 ft, below flood stage; 64 cubic feet per second Highest, 7.45 ft, Jul 10, 2011 1990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Skunk Creek near Chester 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 2 2 2020s: 1 1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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, Skunk Creek near Chester
1Jul 10, 20117.45+0.45Minor1,270
2Sep 12, 20197.37+0.37Minor1,890
3Jun 23, 20247.07+0.07Minor1,130
4Mar 18, 20196.99−0.01Action—
5Sep 21, 19866.95−0.05Action1,060
6Mar 18, 19856.71−0.29Action898
7May 8, 20126.50−0.50Action1,100
8Sep 25, 20106.44−0.56Action797
9Mar 14, 20076.40−0.60Action700
10Mar 30, 19875.78−1.22Below flood stage455
11Apr 7, 20064.88−2.12Below flood stage296
12Mar 8, 20204.74−2.26Below flood stage393
13Apr 8, 20234.47−2.53Below flood stage183
14Jul 7, 20154.35−2.65Below flood stage263
15Jul 11, 20044.18−2.82Below flood stage119
16Sep 25, 20054.07−2.93Below flood stage183
17May 31, 20163.94−3.06Below flood stage139
18Mar 29, 20023.72−3.28Below flood stage150
19Apr 28, 20083.65−3.35Below flood stage161
20Jun 5, 20143.33−3.67Below flood stage186
21Jun 29, 20033.31−3.69Below flood stage116
22Jun 24, 20093.26−3.74Below flood stage129
23Aug 16, 19842.95−4.05Below flood stage29
24Jun 14, 20172.77−4.23Below flood stage118
25Mar 24, 20212.25−4.75Below flood stage67
26Jun 25, 20132.21−4.79Below flood stage78
27May 19, 20252.07−4.93Below flood stage64
28May 11, 20221.90−5.10Below flood stage41

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.

September 12, 2019: 7.37 ft here, minor flooding

  • HartfordSD · Sep 12, 2019 · 14.16 ft · Moderate

June 23, 2024: 7.07 ft here, minor flooding

  • Sioux FallsSD · Jun 22, 2024 · 16.53 ft · Moderate
  • HartfordSD · Jun 21, 2024 · 12.65 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
Chester this gaugeSD7.07.45 ft, Jul 10, 20110
HartfordSD10.015.08 ft, Mar 14, 20190
Sioux FallsSD11.518.23 ft, Mar 14, 20191

Other gauges in Moody County

Flood gauges in Moody County
Flandreau1,540.01,545.29 ft, Sep 13, 20191
Trent1,495.01,501.42 ft, Sep 13, 20192
Brookings9.014.77 ft, Apr 9, 19690
Egan1,516.51,524.20 ft, Sep 12, 20192
Flandreau9.014.00 ft, Sep 12, 20190

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SCCS2, 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.