Rivers in North Dakota

Red River of the North at Drayton

Pembina County, North DakotaNWS DRTN8USGS 05092000Grand Forks office

Below flood stage
11.93ftStage

Observed Thu, Sep 24, 4:45 AM CDT

Flood stage
32.00 ft
Record crest
45.55 ft1997

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood42.00 ft
Moderate flood38.00 ft
Minor flood32.00 ft
Action28.00 ft
  1. 47.20 ftHighway ND 66 and MN 11 bridge approaches overtopped.
  2. 42.00 ftMAJOR FLOOD. General urban flood damage to the city of Drayton.
  3. 41.30 ftMN 175 bridge (north of Drayton and south of Pembina) approaches flood (MN DOT).
  4. 39.00 ftRural road damages begin.
  5. 38.00 ftMODERATE FLOOD.
  6. 32.00 ftMINOR FLOOD. Agricultural damage begins.
  7. 28.00 ftACTION STAGE/FORECAST SERVICE STAGE.

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

93 crests on NOAA’s list since 1897.

#DateStage
1April 24, 199745.55 ft
2April 6, 200943.82 ft
3April 28, 197943.66 ft
4April 15, 202043.33 ft
5May 4, 202243.19 ft
6April 19, 201143.17 ft
7April 10, 200642.89 ft
8April 21, 201942.48 ft
9April 25, 199642.41 ft
10March 28, 201042.18 ft
11April 8, 196642.15 ft
12April 9, 199941.66 ft
13May 12, 195041.58 ft
14April 23, 196941.35 ft
15April 19, 200141.33 ft
16April 16, 197841.19 ft
17April 1, 189741.00 ft
18April 22, 196540.43 ft
19May 1, 202340.40 ft
20April 22, 194840.05 ft
21May 6, 201339.91 ft
22April 27, 197439.85 ft
23October 24, 201939.85 ft
24May 4, 197539.80 ft
25April 3, 199539.73 ft

Most recent crests

  • April 17, 2026: 29.57 ft
  • May 28, 2025: 16.93 ft
  • July 7, 2024: 26.66 ft
  • May 1, 2023: 40.40 ft
  • May 4, 2022: 43.19 ft
  • March 23, 2021: 16.45 ft
  • April 15, 2020: 43.33 ft
  • October 24, 2019: 39.85 ft
  • April 21, 2019: 42.48 ft
  • April 28, 2018: 34.53 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the North Central River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. 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. 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. 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.