North Dakota has been in the weather a lot lately, and once again the USGS is at work, collecting and disseminating data.
USGS ND Flood map
Over 100 USGS Gaging Stations are linked through the North Dakota Water Science Center homepage.
The Flood Tracking Charts for North Dakota and Selected Tributaries can be used by local citizens and emergency response personnel to record the latest river stage and predicted flood-crest information. By comparing the current stage (water-surface elevation above some datum) and predicted flood crest to the recorded peak stages or previous floods, emergency response personnel and residents can make informed decisions concerning the threat to life and property. One statement of caution: the surface of flowing water is not flat but has a slope. Therefore, water-surface elevations along a river might not be the same as the river stages at the gaging stations.
The level of detail embedded in this is atonishing. For each gaging station, current hydrographs, a station site map, and current flow information are available, in addition to historic data and current flood stage information. One station I looked at randomly had information going all the way back to 1956.
5123400 WILLOW CREEK NR WILLOW CITY, ND
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