Rivers in Minnesota

Mississippi River near Aitkin

Aitkin County, MinnesotaNWS ATKM5USGS 05227500Duluth office

Below flood stage
1.96ftStage

Observed Thu, Sep 24, 4:30 AM CDT

Flood stage
13.00 ft
Forecast crest
2.00 ftThu, Sep 24, 7:00 AM CDT
Record crest
22.49 ft1950

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood18.00 ft
Moderate flood15.00 ft
Minor flood13.00 ft
Action12.00 ft
  1. 26.00 ftThe BNSF Railroad track becomes impassable.
  2. 25.00 ftThe transformer station becomes inoperable.
  3. 23.50 ftThe power and water plants in Aitkin become inoperative.
  4. 21.00 ftThe power plant at Aitkin needs emergency protection.
  5. 20.50 ftPortions of Highway 169 northeast of Aitkin become impassable.
  6. 19.00 ftThe transformer station needs emergency protection.
  7. 18.00 ftThe Aitkin sewage plant becomes inoperative.
  8. 17.00 ftPumping begins at the wastewater treatment plant. Sandbagging begins at Aitkin city transformer. Water tops the levees on the North side of Aitkin.
  9. 15.00 ftA few homes become surrounded by water in the Cedarbrook neighborhood near Eagle Rd. The Aitkin city park becomes flooded.
  10. 13.00 ftThe boat ramp at Aitkin city park floods. A few driveways become covered with water in the Cedarbrook area. Minor flooding of farmland occurs in the Cedarbrook community.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor floodingUnder 5%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued August 28, 2026.

Crest history

113 crests on NOAA’s list since 1902.

#DateStage
1May 20, 195022.49 ft
2July 6, 190519.50 ft
3April 29, 191619.30 ft
4June 9, 194418.80 ft
5April 27, 194818.77 ft
6May 12, 193818.70 ft
7June 28, 201218.61 ft
8June 15, 190818.20 ft
9August 14, 195318.13 ft
10April 26, 190618.00 ft
11June 20, 194318.00 ft
12May 3, 197517.95 ft
13April 28, 200117.74 ft
14May 6, 195417.73 ft
15April 22, 194117.70 ft
16April 15, 195217.62 ft
17March 26, 194517.51 ft
18April 25, 202317.50 ft
19April 26, 196517.44 ft
20April 23, 196917.28 ft
21April 26, 197917.12 ft
22April 16, 199716.26 ft
23May 8, 195116.23 ft
24April 6, 190716.20 ft
25May 27, 190216.20 ft

Most recent crests

  • June 29, 2024: 12.98 ft
  • April 25, 2023: 17.50 ft
  • May 18, 2022: 15.24 ft
  • April 19, 2021: 13.39 ft
  • April 12, 2020: 15.38 ft
  • July 14, 2018: 12.59 ft
  • May 5, 2017: 13.02 ft
  • July 15, 2016: 14.17 ft
  • May 27, 2015: 12.26 ft
  • May 14, 2014: 14.59 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the North Central River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued during times of low flows and high flows, but are not routinely available. Gauge reading may be affected by ice. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

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.