Rivers in Colorado

Gunnison River near Grand Junction

Mesa County, ColoradoNWS GJNC2USGS 09152500Grand Junction office

Below flood stage
3.03ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 3:30 AM MDT

Flood stage
13.00 ft
Forecast crest
2.99 ftTue, Sep 22, 4:00 AM MDT
Record crest
19.00 ft1920

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood16.00 ft
Moderate flood15.00 ft
Minor flood13.00 ft
Action10.00 ft
  1. 19.00 ftPortions of town of Whitewater flooded. Major flooding of residences and agricultural land along Gunnison River. Portions of railroad tracks washed out.
  2. 18.00 ftRanch land near southern end of Foster Lane begins to flood.
  3. 17.50 ftWater reaches the railroad tracks paralleling the Gunnison River near State Highway 141 bridge. Sections of 141 in vicinity of the bridge are flooded as well as Foster Lane, Coffman Road and CS15.
  4. 16.00 ftWater nears the top of the right bank of the Gunnison River near State Highway 141 bridge.
  5. 14.25 ftWater covers State Highway 141 bridge. Highway 141 becomes impassable.
  6. 13.00 ftSome residential flooding is likely near Redlands Dam.
  7. 11.00 ftWater nears the bottom of State Highway 141 bridge. Water reaches the base of the bridge near Redlands Dam.
  8. 10.00 ftConsiderable agricultural land flooding is likely between Whitewater and Orchard Mesa. Water flows into quarry on left bank of Gunnison downstream of State Highway 141 bridge.
  9. 9.00 ftSome lowland flooding near redlands dam is likely. Low lying agricultural land flooded.
  10. 8.60 ftWater reaches the top of the left bank on the west side of the State Highway 141 bridge. Water begins to fill gravel quarry on left bank upstream of State Highway 141 bridge.
  11. 7.00 ftWater will inundate sections of the river walk near Redlands Dam.

Crest history

119 crests on NOAA’s list since 1897.

#DateStage
1May 23, 192019.00 ft
2June 15, 192117.40 ft
3June 9, 190517.10 ft
4May 14, 194116.60 ft
5June 6, 195716.50 ft
6May 17, 194416.30 ft
7June 18, 191715.40 ft
8May 6, 195215.20 ft
9May 26, 192914.70 ft
10June 8, 198414.55 ft
11May 7, 192214.20 ft
12May 27, 194214.20 ft
13May 20, 194814.10 ft
14May 21, 190614.00 ft
15May 3, 192813.80 ft
16May 24, 195813.40 ft
17May 9, 189713.25 ft
18May 18, 199313.16 ft
19June 26, 198313.06 ft
20June 19, 194912.80 ft
21June 2, 193312.80 ft
22May 23, 193212.70 ft
23May 28, 192312.60 ft
24June 14, 191812.50 ft
25May 18, 192712.40 ft

Most recent crests

  • April 2, 2026: 3.95 ft
  • June 2, 2025: 6.20 ft
  • May 22, 2024: 8.34 ft
  • May 17, 2023: 12.32 ft
  • May 19, 2022: 6.58 ft
  • August 20, 2021: 4.09 ft
  • May 20, 2020: 5.80 ft
  • June 9, 2019: 11.91 ft
  • November 2, 2017: 4.29 ft
  • May 26, 2017: 11.71 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round. Stage may be affected by ice during winter months.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.