Rivers in Minnesota

Prairie River (MN) near Taconite

Itasca County, MinnesotaNWS TACM5USGS 05212700Duluth office

Below flood stage
2.18ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 3:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
10.00 ft
Record crest
11.81 ft1969

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood13.00 ft
Moderate flood12.00 ft
Minor flood10.00 ft
Action9.00 ft
  1. 11.00 ftWater level nears cabin on Lower Lawrence lake. Several area county roads become inundated.
  2. 10.00 ftCounty Road 352 near Lawrence lake boat ramp becomes inundated. Flood waters cross County Road 319 near Crooked Lake.

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

39 crests on NOAA’s list since 1968.

#DateStage
1April 17, 196911.81 ft
2June 27, 200211.78 ft
3April 24, 197911.64 ft
4April 18, 202311.41 ft
5May 1, 197511.04 ft
6April 21, 197111.00 ft
7April 16, 200110.99 ft
8April 26, 200810.50 ft
9May 2, 197010.12 ft
10June 23, 202410.11 ft
11April 28, 20229.97 ft
12April 21, 19829.92 ft
13June 12, 19749.82 ft
14April 25, 19729.42 ft
15April 22, 20199.30 ft
16March 20, 20169.23 ft
17April 10, 20209.22 ft
18April 17, 20219.20 ft
19April 16, 20119.00 ft
20April 8, 20058.93 ft
21April 8, 20068.89 ft
22June 2, 20128.67 ft
23May 17, 20148.56 ft
24June 5, 19788.10 ft
25May 1, 20187.89 ft

Most recent crests

  • June 23, 2024: 10.11 ft
  • April 18, 2023: 11.41 ft
  • April 28, 2022: 9.97 ft
  • April 17, 2021: 9.20 ft
  • April 10, 2020: 9.22 ft
  • April 22, 2019: 9.30 ft
  • May 1, 2018: 7.89 ft
  • April 6, 2017: 7.82 ft
  • March 20, 2016: 9.23 ft
  • May 22, 2015: 7.00 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.