Rivers in South Dakota

Cheyenne River near Plainview

Ziebach County, South DakotaNWS PLNS2USGS 06438500Rapid City office

Below flood stage
8.53ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 12:30 AM MDT

Flood stage
17.00 ft
Record crest
22.99 ft2019

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood20.00 ft
Moderate flood19.00 ft
Minor flood17.00 ft
Action15.00 ft
  1. 22.99 ftRecord flooding occurred in May 2019.
  2. 20.00 ftExtensive flooding along the Cheyenne River with extensive inundation of structures and roads possible.
  3. 19.00 ftSome inundation of structures and roads along the Cheyenne River are possible.
  4. 17.00 ftMinor flooding of agricultural land along the Cheyenne River.
  5. 15.00 ftFlooding of low lying areas along the Cheyenne River begins.
  6. 14.75 ftBoth sides of the river will flood with water spreading onto the floodplain.
  7. 13.00 ftThe river is bankfull.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding6%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued August 26, 2026.

Crest history

65 crests on NOAA’s list since 1920.

#DateStage
1May 23, 201922.99 ft
2June 7, 200822.63 ft
3May 28, 199622.10 ft
4May 26, 201119.86 ft
5May 10, 199519.72 ft
6April 14, 200919.02 ft
7May 26, 201018.67 ft
8October 13, 201318.59 ft
9May 17, 201518.28 ft
10June 21, 201817.85 ft
11May 1, 192017.50 ft
12October 18, 199817.27 ft
13April 26, 200017.23 ft
14June 20, 199817.01 ft
15February 21, 199716.94 ft
16March 7, 200116.81 ft
17May 14, 202316.23 ft
18March 7, 200415.90 ft
19May 31, 201315.85 ft
20March 1, 202015.75 ft
21March 29, 200215.55 ft
22September 6, 200415.16 ft
23May 13, 200514.14 ft
24May 1, 192714.00 ft
25June 17, 200713.89 ft

Most recent crests

  • October 14, 2023: 13.87 ft
  • May 14, 2023: 16.23 ft
  • October 14, 2021: 13.78 ft
  • May 25, 2021: 11.29 ft
  • May 24, 2020: 12.08 ft
  • March 1, 2020: 15.75 ft
  • May 23, 2019: 22.99 ft
  • June 21, 2018: 17.85 ft
  • August 16, 2017: 12.15 ft
  • July 3, 2016: 13.56 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Missouri Basin 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 and future precipitation. The stages/flows that will occur may be different if future rainfall is different than forecast. 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.