Rivers in Minnesota

Knife River (MN) near Two Harbors

Lake County, MinnesotaNWS KNIM5USGS 04015330Duluth office

Below flood stage
25.74ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 11:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
33.00 ft
Record crest
34.89 ft2023

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood36.00 ft
Moderate flood34.00 ft
Minor flood33.00 ft
Action30.00 ft
  1. 36.00 ftWater goes over the Church Road (County Road 102) bridge and indundates portions of Scenic Highway 61 downstream of the intersection with County Road 102. Extensive flooding of residential yards with water encroaching on riverside homes in the town of Knife River.
  2. 33.50 ftWater may begin to inundate low lying areas of residential properties on Alger Smith Road (County Road 103).
  3. 33.00 ftBottom of the stairs to the rest station trail become inundated and portions of the Knife River hiking trail on the south side of the river are under water.
  4. 30.00 ftLowest spots of the Knife River hiking trail on the south side of the river begin to be inundanted.

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

51 crests on NOAA’s list since 1975.

#DateStage
1September 24, 202334.89 ft
2June 18, 201832.63 ft
3June 19, 202431.76 ft
4July 19, 202030.36 ft
5July 23, 202530.28 ft
6May 1, 202230.03 ft
7October 10, 201829.95 ft
8April 12, 202129.43 ft
9June 20, 201212.81 ft
10July 5, 199912.14 ft
11May 10, 197911.16 ft
12June 24, 199710.29 ft
13June 29, 19919.82 ft
14July 4, 19939.53 ft
15March 31, 20059.08 ft
16September 24, 19778.94 ft
17May 29, 19788.43 ft
18August 25, 19958.19 ft
19September 4, 19808.09 ft
20June 10, 19868.04 ft
21July 3, 19828.03 ft
22April 21, 19927.84 ft
23April 23, 20017.66 ft
24September 27, 19967.53 ft
25April 23, 19757.52 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 23, 2025: 30.28 ft
  • June 19, 2024: 31.76 ft
  • September 24, 2023: 34.89 ft
  • May 1, 2022: 30.03 ft
  • April 12, 2021: 29.43 ft
  • July 19, 2020: 30.36 ft
  • October 10, 2018: 29.95 ft
  • June 18, 2018: 32.63 ft
  • November 29, 2016: 5.11 ft
  • June 13, 2016: 5.74 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. 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.