Rivers in Minnesota

Buffalo River (MN) near Dilworth

Clay County, MinnesotaNWS DILM5USGS 05062000Grand Forks office

Below flood stage
2.84ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 10:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
13.00 ft
Record crest
27.10 ft1975

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood26.00 ft
Moderate flood20.00 ft
Minor flood13.00 ft
Action12.00 ft
  1. 26.00 ftMAJOR FLOOD STAGE.
  2. 25.00 ftUS Highway 10 east of Glyndon is flooded. Extensive flooding to agricultural areas.
  3. 22.00 ftThe approach road on the north side of the bridge begins to flood.
  4. 20.00 ftMODERATE FLOOD STAGE.
  5. 17.00 ftSome agricultural flooding begins.
  6. 15.80 ftRoad west of gage begins to flood.
  7. 15.00 ftGage not accessible above 15 feet.
  8. 14.90 ftBottom of steel bridge causes upstream road to flood.
  9. 13.00 ftMINOR FLOOD STAGE.
  10. 12.00 ftACTION STAGE/FORECAST SERVICE STAGE.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding12%
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

99 crests on NOAA’s list since 1931.

#DateStage
1July 2, 197527.10 ft
2April 6, 199727.02 ft
3March 25, 200925.86 ft
4April 11, 196925.55 ft
5April 16, 202324.43 ft
6April 1, 200624.11 ft
7June 11, 196223.56 ft
8April 11, 196523.37 ft
9March 18, 196623.31 ft
10April 10, 200123.29 ft
11April 3, 201923.08 ft
12April 6, 201122.89 ft
13July 20, 199322.88 ft
14April 6, 198922.80 ft
15March 31, 197822.76 ft
16April 2, 194322.60 ft
17March 31, 202022.05 ft
18May 19, 199821.77 ft
19June 23, 200021.67 ft
20April 16, 197921.60 ft
21April 10, 195221.24 ft
22March 24, 199420.82 ft
23March 28, 198620.50 ft
24April 13, 194720.26 ft
25April 29, 201320.10 ft

Most recent crests

  • March 27, 2026: 10.04 ft
  • August 13, 2025: 15.71 ft
  • June 8, 2024: 14.70 ft
  • April 16, 2023: 24.43 ft
  • May 15, 2022: 18.49 ft
  • March 12, 2021: 10.29 ft
  • March 31, 2020: 22.05 ft
  • October 19, 2019: 14.95 ft
  • April 3, 2019: 23.08 ft
  • April 17, 2018: 10.72 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.