Rivers in Minnesota

West Fork Des Moines River above Windom

Cottonwood County, MinnesotaNWS WDOM5USGS 05475350Sioux Falls office

Below flood stage
9.63ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 9:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
19.00 ft
Record crest
25.01 ft2024

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood25.00 ft
Moderate flood21.00 ft
Minor flood19.00 ft
Action17.00 ft
  1. 30.00 ftThe bridge at the gage location on Country Club Dr is overtopped and nearby homes are flooded. Portions of County Road 13 begin to flood.
  2. 27.00 ftHighway 71 in Windom is flooded and significant flooding of homes and businesses will be ongoing. The main levee at the golf course in Windom is overtopped.
  3. 25.00 ftWater approaches Hwy 71 in Windom as well as the bottom of the railroad bridge. A significant amount of water overtops River Rd and backs up through the Perkins Creek floodplain, flooding nearby homes and outbuildings.
  4. 24.00 ftWater reaches the bottom beams of the bridge on Country Club Dr.
  5. 23.00 ftWater begins to approach at least a couple homes and businesses in Windom. Water also approaches River Rd southeast of 15th Ave and at least one private driveway is flooded off of Country Club Dr.
  6. 22.00 ftWater begins to approach or flood some outbuildings near Valley Ln and also south of 6th St.
  7. 21.00 ftThe lower portions of the road through Island Park are overtopped and water approaches a couple of the gravel parking lots on the east side of Hwy 71 in Windom.
  8. 19.00 ftLowland flooding begins along several stretches of the river and Island Park in Windom floods in several areas.
  9. 18.00 ftThe boat launch area off of River Rd begins to flood.
  10. 17.00 ftThe lower parking lot on the south side of Island Park begins to flood.
  11. 15.00 ftThe lower banks at Island Park begin to overflow.

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

20 crests on NOAA’s list since 1969.

#DateStage
1June 25, 202425.01 ft
2April 11, 196924.70 ft
3July 7, 201823.40 ft
4March 23, 201923.01 ft
5September 24, 201023.00 ft
6April 4, 198421.90 ft
7March 25, 201121.79 ft
8April 27, 200121.57 ft
9June 22, 201421.57 ft
10March 30, 199721.34 ft
11May 12, 199321.30 ft
12July 7, 199321.10 ft
13June 23, 199619.77 ft
14March 10, 202019.77 ft
15March 16, 200719.70 ft
16May 5, 200619.50 ft
17April 17, 202318.13 ft
18June 13, 202217.64 ft
19July 4, 202514.84 ft
20April 12, 202112.57 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 4, 2025: 14.84 ft
  • June 25, 2024: 25.01 ft
  • April 17, 2023: 18.13 ft
  • June 13, 2022: 17.64 ft
  • April 12, 2021: 12.57 ft
  • March 10, 2020: 19.77 ft
  • March 23, 2019: 23.01 ft
  • July 7, 2018: 23.40 ft
  • June 22, 2014: 21.57 ft
  • March 25, 2011: 21.79 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 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. Gauge reading may be affected by ice.

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.