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Whetstone River above Big Stone City

Highest listed crest 26.00 ftFlood stage 12.0 ft92 crests since 1919

The Whetstone River above Big Stone City crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 92 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1919 to 2025. The highest, 26.00 ft on June 1, 1919, was major flooding, 14.00 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
26.00 ft
June 1, 1919; 29,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
12.0 ft
Major flooding from 20.0 ft
Crests at major
1
62nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
March 16, 2010
12.71 ft, minor flooding
Location
Grant 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, Whetstone River above Big Stone City
Action stage11.012Mar 22, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)12.09Mar 16, 2010Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage15.02Mar 13, 2007Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage20.01Jun 1, 1919Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

92 crests from 1919 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Whetstone River above Big Stone City, 1919 to 2025 0102030ft Flood stage 12.0 ftMajor 20.0 ft Jun 1, 1919: 26.00 ft, major flooding; 29,000 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1931: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 1,320 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1932: 5.70 ft, below flood stage; 244 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1933: 2.84 ft, below flood stage; 45 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1934: 3.32 ft, below flood stage; 90 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1935: 4.60 ft, below flood stage; 391 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1936: 5.18 ft, below flood stage; 422 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1937: 10.10 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1938: 6.00 ft, below flood stage; 234 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1939: 8.70 ft, below flood stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1940: 7.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,040 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1941: 4.24 ft, below flood stage; 244 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1942: 11.50 ft, action stage; 3,740 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1943: 13.50 ft, minor flooding; 5,140 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1944: 6.31 ft, below flood stage; 1,010 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1945: 9.87 ft, below flood stage; 2,770 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1946: 7.28 ft, below flood stage; 1,160 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1947: 13.95 ft, minor flooding; 5,500 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1948: 10.87 ft, below flood stage; 3,370 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1949: 4.31 ft, below flood stage; 344 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1950: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1951: 8.94 ft, below flood stage; 1,100 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1952: 13.64 ft, minor flooding; 5,710 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1953: 6.56 ft, below flood stage; 1,110 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1954: 10.46 ft, below flood stage; 3,330 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1955: 6.62 ft, below flood stage; 570 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1956: 5.22 ft, below flood stage; 429 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1957: 10.94 ft, below flood stage; 3,680 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 1958: 6.27 ft, below flood stage; 998 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1959: 3.69 ft, below flood stage; 70 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1960: 8.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,560 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1961: 4.26 ft, below flood stage; 300 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1962: 10.38 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1963: 7.85 ft, below flood stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1964: 8.61 ft, below flood stage; 701 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1965: 8.57 ft, below flood stage; 1,740 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1966: 9.42 ft, below flood stage; 2,600 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1967: 5.18 ft, below flood stage; 475 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1968: 3.67 ft, below flood stage; 153 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1969: 14.32 ft, minor flooding; 6,870 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1970: 7.60 ft, below flood stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1971: 9.94 ft, below flood stage; 2,540 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1972: 10.24 ft, below flood stage; 2,930 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1973: 9.23 ft, below flood stage; 2,470 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1974: 5.63 ft, below flood stage; 373 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1975: 6.67 ft, below flood stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1976: 6.81 ft, below flood stage; 675 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1977: 6.64 ft, below flood stage; 717 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1978: 11.50 ft, action stage; 3,850 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1979: 12.11 ft, minor flooding; 4,210 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1980: 6.79 ft, below flood stage; 774 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1981: 5.01 ft, below flood stage; 425 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1982: 10.97 ft, below flood stage; 3,450 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1983: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1984: 12.42 ft, minor flooding; 4,850 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1985: 11.13 ft, action stage; 3,900 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1986: 11.89 ft, action stage; 4,730 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1987: 4.08 ft, below flood stage; 294 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1988: 4.15 ft, below flood stage; 249 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1989: 10.76 ft, below flood stage; 3,490 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1990: 4.19 ft, below flood stage; 286 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1991: 10.40 ft, below flood stage; 3,270 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1992: 7.97 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1993: 11.25 ft, action stage; 3,890 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1994: 11.14 ft, action stage; 3,980 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1995: 11.55 ft, action stage; 4,140 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1996: 11.50 ft, action stage; 1,490 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1997: 14.21 ft, minor flooding; 7,930 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1998: 7.09 ft, below flood stage; 1,230 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1999: 3.62 ft, below flood stage; 325 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 2000: 1.97 ft, below flood stage; 62 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 2001: 15.93 ft, moderate flooding; 9,930 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2002: 7.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,690 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2003: 5.19 ft, below flood stage; 325 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 2004: 1.99 ft, below flood stage; 58 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2005: 10.44 ft, below flood stage; 3,430 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2006: 6.27 ft, below flood stage; 950 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2007: 15.08 ft, moderate flooding; 9,060 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2008: 13.48 ft, minor flooding; 6,720 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2009: 11.63 ft, action stage; 4,540 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2010: 12.71 ft, minor flooding; 6,480 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2011: 9.51 ft, below flood stage; 3,250 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2012: 5.55 ft, below flood stage; 870 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2013: 8.59 ft, below flood stage; 2,530 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2014: 11.69 ft, action stage; 5,460 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 2015: 3.18 ft, below flood stage; 266 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2016: 5.46 ft, below flood stage; 847 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2017: 11.25 ft, action stage; 4,430 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 2018: 7.63 ft, below flood stage; 1,890 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2019: 11.97 ft, action stage; 5,800 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2020: 8.57 ft, below flood stageJun 26, 2025: 9.41 ft, below flood stage; 3,720 cubic feet per second Highest, 26.00 ft, Jun 1, 1919 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Whetstone River above Big Stone City 1910s: 1 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 2 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 1 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 3 3 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 92 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Whetstone River above Big Stone City
1Jun 1, 191926.00+14.00Major29,000
2Apr 8, 200115.93+3.93Moderate9,930
3Mar 13, 200715.08+3.08Moderate9,060
4Apr 8, 196914.32+2.32Minor6,870
5Apr 6, 199714.21+2.21Minor7,930
6Apr 11, 194713.95+1.95Minor5,500
7Apr 8, 195213.64+1.64Minor5,710
8Mar 25, 194313.50+1.50Minor5,140
9Jun 12, 200813.48+1.48Minor6,720
10Mar 16, 201012.71+0.71Minor6,480
11Jun 16, 198412.42+0.42Minor4,850
12Apr 13, 197912.11+0.11Minor4,210
13Mar 22, 201911.97−0.03Action5,800
14Apr 15, 198611.89−0.11Action4,730
15Jun 20, 201411.69−0.31Action5,460
16Mar 24, 200911.63−0.37Action4,540
17Jul 6, 199511.55−0.45Action4,140
18Jun 7, 194211.50−0.50Action3,740
19Mar 23, 197811.50−0.50Action3,850
20May 18, 199611.50−0.50Action1,490
21Jul 18, 199311.25−0.75Action3,890
22Sep 25, 201711.25−0.75Action4,430
23Jul 8, 199411.14−0.86Action3,980
24Mar 19, 198511.13−0.87Action3,900
25Mar 31, 198210.97−1.03Below flood stage3,450
26May 21, 195710.94−1.06Below flood stage3,680
27Mar 25, 194810.87−1.13Below flood stage3,370
28Mar 27, 198910.76−1.24Below flood stage3,490
29Jun 7, 195410.46−1.54Below flood stage3,330
30Jun 15, 200510.44−1.56Below flood stage3,430
31Aug 3, 199110.40−1.60Below flood stage3,270
32Mar 29, 196210.38−1.62Below flood stage2,900
33Mar 16, 197210.24−1.76Below flood stage2,930
34May 21, 193710.10−1.90Below flood stage2,900
35Jun 30, 19719.94−2.06Below flood stage2,540
36Jun 2, 19459.87−2.13Below flood stage2,770
37Jun 23, 20119.51−2.49Below flood stage3,250
38Mar 14, 19669.42−2.58Below flood stage2,600
39Jun 26, 20259.41−2.59Below flood stage3,720
40May 25, 19739.23−2.77Below flood stage2,470
41Apr 5, 19518.94−3.06Below flood stage1,100
42Mar 23, 19398.70−3.30Below flood stage1,500
43Apr 3, 19648.61−3.39Below flood stage701
44Jun 23, 20138.59−3.41Below flood stage2,530
45Apr 6, 19658.57−3.43Below flood stage1,740
46Mar 8, 20208.57−3.43Below flood stage—
47Apr 6, 19608.00−4.00Below flood stage1,560
48Jun 18, 19927.97−4.03Below flood stage1,680
49Mar 31, 19407.89−4.11Below flood stage1,040
50Mar 30, 20027.89−4.11Below flood stage1,690

Other gauges in Grant County

Flood gauges in Grant County
Florence8.09.70 ft, Apr 13, 20236
Big Stone Lake970.0973.90 ft, Apr 7, 19971

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BGCS2, 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.