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Flow report

Minnesota River Levels & Streamflow

As of Sep 4, 2026, Minnesota rivers are running at 34% of normal across 88 USGS gauges — the highest is 10,800 cfs on the Mississippi River At Winona. Live discharge, gauge height, and percent-of-normal for every USGS streamgauge in Minnesota.

USGS gauges
88
State percent normal
34%
Paddle runs
1
Updated
Sep 4
Open the Minnesota flow layer on the map Every USGS streamgauge filtered to Minnesota.
Open the map →
September
4
2026
Flow briefing

Streamflow levels across Minnesota are currently 34% of normal, with the Mississippi River At Winona reporting the highest discharge in the state at 10,800 cfs and a gauge stage of 5.59 ft.

Meanwhile, the South Fork Zumbro River At Rochester is seeing a spike today — up 1028% since yesterday and currently running near peak.

Tap any gauge below for the full hydrograph, paired weather forecast, and historical context. Use the rivers panel to jump into Minnesota's named rivers.

Minnesota at a glance

State-wide streamflow overview

The Minnesota flow picture in four data points -- where the state sits versus historical norms, what's flowing hardest, and what's spiking fastest.

Percent of normal

34%

100% is the historical norm. Below 70% indicates drought; above 130% can flag elevated flood risk.

Highest discharge

Mississippi River At Winona 10,800 cfs

Gauge stage 5.59 ft

Biggest 24h spike

South Fork Zumbro River At Rochester +1028%

Now 536 cfs

Network coverage

Gauges + rivers tracked 88 + 0

USGS gauges feeding 0 named rivers in Minnesota.

Where every gauge actually sits

One dot per Minnesota streamgauge, placed by its own percent of normal. The state average is a single line through all of it.

State average 34%
0% 50% 100% · normal 150% 200%+
Much below normalunder 50% Below normal50–90% Near normal90–110% Above normal110–150% Much above normalover 150%

Percent of normal compares today's discharge with the historical average for this calendar day. Tap any dot to open that gauge.

Minnesota streamflow, three water years

Statewide percent of normal, every day since Aug 2023. The dotted line is normal.

34% of normal today
-147pts vs this day last year (181%)
345of 366 days below normal, past year
211% 3-year peak · Aug 2025 · above the axis
50% 100% normal 150% 200%
Aug 2023 202420252026 Sep 3, 2026

799 daily readings from 88 reporting gauges. Percent of normal is today's statewide discharge against the historical average for the same calendar day — 100% is normal, not "good". The axis tops out at 200%: 11 readings above that — including the 211% peak in Aug 2025 — are drawn along the top edge, so a few flood days cannot flatten three years of everything else. The line breaks in 2 places where the record skips more than five days — those are gaps in reporting, not readings of zero.

Full streamgauge inventory

Minnesota USGS streamgauges

Every USGS gauge Snoflo tracks in Minnesota. Sortable, quickly filterable. Numeric columns heat-mapped from light to deep. Tap any gauge for its full hydrograph and forecast.

88 gauges
Streamgage Streamflow Gage height Water temp Air temp Elevation Watershed
Mississippi River At Winona, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05378500
12,600 cfs 5.81 ft · 73°F 644 ft Buffalo-Whitewater
Mississippi River At Red Wing, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05355250
8,030 cfs 2.30 ft · 66°F 669 ft Rush-Vermillion
Mississippi River At St. Paul, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05331000
4,130 cfs 3.26 ft · 68°F 695 ft Twin Cities
Mississippi River Below L&D #2 At Hastings, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05331580
3,090 cfs 6.93 ft · 66°F · Twin Cities
Mississippi River At Anoka, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05283500
1,990 cfs 4.19 ft · 66°F 827 ft Twin Cities
Mississippi River Near Anoka, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05288500
1,860 cfs 1.19 ft · 67°F 817 ft Twin Cities
Mississippi River At St. Cloud, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05270700
1,520 cfs 3.97 ft · 64°F 954 ft Clearwater-Elk
Minnesota River At Mankato, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05325000
1,090 cfs 3.14 ft · 73°F 759 ft Middle Minnesota
Minnesota River Near Jordan, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05330000
1,060 cfs 4.61 ft · 67°F 715 ft Lower Minnesota
Mississippi River Near Royalton, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05267000
956 cfs 7.99 ft · 62°F 1,017 ft Platte-Spunk
Root River Near Houston, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05385000
705 cfs 3.66 ft · 70°F 670 ft Root
Gold Portage Outlet From Kabetogama Lk Nr Ray, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05129290
536 cfs 17.51 ft · 58°F 1,132 ft Rainy Lake
Le Sueur River Near Rapidan, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05320500
532 cfs 6.87 ft · 68°F 776 ft Le Sueur
Mississippi River At Brainerd, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05242300
485 cfs 4.31 ft · 67°F 1,167 ft Elk-Nokasippi
Crow Wing River Near Pillager, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05247500
432 cfs 3.38 ft · 67°F 1,161 ft Crow Wing
Mississippi River At Aitkin, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05227500
399 cfs 1.26 ft · 62°F 1,206 ft Elk-Nokasippi
Minnesota River At New Ulm, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05316770
379 cfs 785.02 ft · 67°F 794 ft Middle Minnesota
Minnesota River At Morton, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05316580
323 cfs 7.50 ft · 65°F 824 ft Middle Minnesota
Red Lake River At Fisher, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05080000
316 cfs 10.16 ft · 61°F 812 ft Red Lake
Red Lake River At Crookston, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05079000
293 cfs 4.15 ft · 63°F 851 ft Red Lake
Root River Near Pilot Mound, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05383950
273 cfs 8.05 ft · 72°F 855 ft Root
St. Louis River At Scanlon, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 04024000
269 cfs 2.30 ft 74°F 62°F 1,109 ft St. Louis
Basswood River Near Winton, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05127500
251 cfs 2.38 ft · 54°F 1,299 ft Rainy Headwaters
Straight River Near Faribault, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05353800
232 cfs 4.44 ft · 67°F 1,069 ft Cannon
Cannon River At Welch, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05355200
224 cfs 3.42 ft · 66°F 741 ft Cannon
Blue Earth River Near Rapidan, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05320000
212 cfs 7.63 ft · 72°F 807 ft Blue Earth
Mississippi River At Grand Rapids, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05211000
199 cfs 2.85 ft · 60°F 1,246 ft Prairie-Willow
Crow River At Rockford, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05280000
196 cfs 2.37 ft · 66°F 932 ft Crow
South Fork Root River Near Houston, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05385500
192 cfs 2.18 ft · 71°F 692 ft Root
Minnesota River At Montevideo, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05311000
147 cfs 1.91 ft · 64°F 928 ft Hawk-Yellow Medicine
Cedar River Near Austin, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05457000
139 cfs 3.07 ft 69°F 72°F 1,163 ft Upper Cedar
Rum River Near St. Francis, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05286000
135 cfs 2.15 ft · 64°F 866 ft Rum
Crow Wing River At Nimrod, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05244000
130 cfs 2.38 ft · 63°F 1,326 ft Crow Wing
Chippewa River Near Milan, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05304500
129 cfs 1.19 ft · 64°F 975 ft Chippewa
Otter Tail River Bl Orwell D Nr Fergus Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05046000
127 cfs 2.08 ft · 71°F 1,032 ft Otter Tail
Thief River Near Thief River Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05076000
121 cfs 5.55 ft · 61°F 1,129 ft Thief
South Kawishiwi R Abv White Iron Lake Nr Ely, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05126210
120 cfs 3.46 ft · 56°F 1,391 ft Rainy Headwaters
Minnesota River Near Lac Qui Parle, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05301000
102 cfs 20.81 ft · 64°F 923 ft Lac Qui Parle
Chippewa River Near Watson, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05305000
94 cfs 36.87 ft · 64°F 941 ft Chippewa
South Fork Zumbro River At Rochester, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05372995
92 cfs 2.52 ft · 72°F 951 ft Zumbro
Snake River Near Pine City, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05338500
80 cfs 2.74 ft · 66°F 922 ft Snake
Little Fork River At Littlefork, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05131500
80 cfs 2.17 ft · 53°F 1,083 ft Little Fork
South Kawishiwi River Near Ely, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05125000
79 cfs 1.90 ft · 54°F 1,427 ft Rainy Headwaters
Pigeon River At Middle Falls Nr Grand Portage Mn, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 04010500
77 cfs 2.29 ft · 59°F 807 ft Baptism-Brule
Kettle River Below Sandstone, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05336700
73 cfs 3.81 ft · 64°F 936 ft Kettle
Mississippi River Near Bemidji, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05200510
73 cfs 2.60 ft · 56°F 1,318 ft Mississippi Headwaters
Otter Tail River Near Elizabeth, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05030500
70 cfs 4.53 ft · 70°F 1,272 ft Otter Tail
Cottonwood River Near New Ulm, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05317000
61 cfs 3.24 ft · 67°F 800 ft Cottonwood
Lac Qui Parle River Near Lac Qui Parle, Mn
2 days ago · USGS 05300000
60 cfs 5.52 ft · 64°F 973 ft Lac Qui Parle
Sauk River Near St. Cloud, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05270500
60 cfs 1.11 ft · 63°F 1,024 ft Sauk
Red Lake River Near Red Lake, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05074500
60 cfs 69.20 ft · 59°F 1,175 ft Red Lake
Big Fork River At Big Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05132000
60 cfs 2.70 ft · 57°F 1,182 ft Big Fork
Vermilion River Nr Crane Lake, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05129115
55 cfs 3.98 ft · 57°F 1,183 ft Vermilion
Red Lake River At High Landing Nr Goodridge, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05075000
54 cfs 1.93 ft · 59°F 1,151 ft Red Lake
Long Prairie River At Long Prairie, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05245100
48 cfs 1.50 ft · 66°F 1,297 ft Long Prairie
Pomme De Terre River At Appleton, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05294000
47 cfs 4.00 ft · 64°F 984 ft Pomme De Terre
Watonwan River Near Garden City, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05319500
44 cfs · · 72°F 931 ft Watonwan
Minnesota River At Ortonville, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05292000
40 cfs 1.67 ft · 67°F 972 ft Upper Minnesota
Rapid River Near Baudette, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05134200
36 cfs 2.32 ft · 55°F 1,116 ft Rapid
Straight River Near Park Rapids, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05243725
32 cfs · · 57°F 1,411 ft Crow Wing
Prairie River Near Taconite, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05212700
32 cfs 1.87 ft · 58°F 1,332 ft Prairie-Willow
Clearwater River At Red Lake Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05078500
27 cfs 4.98 ft · 63°F 955 ft Clearwater
Kawishiwi River Near Ely, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05124480
27 cfs 2.65 ft 71°F 54°F 1,427 ft Rainy Headwaters
Elk River Near Big Lake, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05275000
25 cfs · · 64°F 932 ft Clearwater-Elk
Buffalo River Near Dilworth, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05062000
23 cfs 2.76 ft · 62°F 892 ft Buffalo
Redwood River Near Redwood Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05316500
22 cfs 1.65 ft · 65°F 988 ft Redwood
Little Cottonwood River Near Courtland, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05317200
20 cfs 2.72 ft · 67°F 810 ft Middle Minnesota
Des Moines River At Jackson, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05476000
20 cfs 6.78 ft · 72°F 1,315 ft Upper Des Moines
Wild Rice River At Twin Valley, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05062500
19 cfs 1.53 ft · 60°F 1,016 ft Eastern Wild Rice
High Island Creek Near Henderson, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05327000
18 cfs 3.66 ft · 67°F 731 ft Lower Minnesota
Sand Hill River At Climax, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05069000
17 cfs 4.08 ft · 63°F 829 ft Sandhill-Wilson
Buffalo River Near Hawley, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05061000
16 cfs 3.19 ft · 64°F 1,121 ft Buffalo
Yellow Medicine River Near Granite Falls, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05313500
14 cfs 2.24 ft · 65°F 986 ft Hawk-Yellow Medicine
Vermillion River Near Empire, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05345000
13 cfs 1.63 ft · 66°F 863 ft Rush-Vermillion
Wild Rice River At Hendrum, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05064000
11 cfs 2.63 ft · 63°F 851 ft Eastern Wild Rice
Yellow Bank River Near Odessa, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05293000
10 cfs 2.27 ft · 63°F 955 ft Upper Minnesota
Redwood River Near Marshall, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05315000
7 cfs 6.47 ft · 72°F 1,199 ft Redwood
Knife River Near Two Harbors, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 04015330
6 cfs 25.75 ft 38°F 63°F 620 ft Beaver-Lester
Roseau River At Ross, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05107500
5 cfs 1.80 ft · 53°F 1,031 ft Roseau
Elm Creek Nr Champlin, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05287890
5 cfs 3.44 ft · 66°F 870 ft Twin Cities
Clearwater River At Plummer, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05078000
3 cfs 2.61 ft · 62°F 1,105 ft Clearwater
South Branch Two Rivers At Lake Bronson, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05094000
2 cfs 3.11 ft · 58°F 955 ft Two Rivers
Middle River At Argyle, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05087500
2 cfs 3.00 ft · 57°F 839 ft Snake
Shingle Creek At Queen Ave In Minneapolis, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05288705
2 cfs 9.11 ft 73°F 68°F 905 ft Twin Cities
Sprague Creek Near Sprague, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05106000
1 cfs 2.17 ft · 53°F 1,050 ft Roseau
Roseau River Below State Ditch 51 Nr Caribou, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05112000
1 cfs 1.91 ft · 54°F 1,008 ft Roseau
Bois De Sioux River Near Doran, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05051300
1 cfs 5.78 ft · 68°F 957 ft Bois De Sioux
Marsh River Near Shelly, Mn
1 day ago · USGS 05067500
0 cfs 3.43 ft · 64°F 848 ft Elm-Marsh
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Whitewater & paddle

Minnesota river runs

Paddleable river sections in Minnesota keyed to USGS gauges, with live streamflow and whitewater class.

River run Status Streamflow Air temp Class
Upper Saint Louis Runnable 6,710 cfs 40°F II+ TO IV
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Flow report FAQ

About Minnesota streamflow

What are river levels like in Minnesota right now?

As of September 4, 2026, Minnesota rivers are running at 34% of normal across 88 USGS streamgauges, and the Mississippi River At Winona is reporting the highest discharge at 10,800 cfs. The full sortable gauge table is below.

Which Minnesota river is running highest right now?

As of September 4, 2026, the highest discharge in Minnesota is 10,800 cfs on the Mississippi River At Winona. See the sortable gauge table for the full statewide ranking.

Are Minnesota rivers high or low right now?

Compare the statewide percent-of-normal on this page: above 100% means Minnesota rivers are running higher than the seasonal average for the date, below 100% means lower (a dry spell or drought). Each gauge also shows its own percent of median.

Where does the Minnesota streamflow data come from?

The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System. USGS streamgauges report continuously (every 15 minutes) and the data is the canonical real-time record for U.S. rivers. Snoflo pulls the latest readings and joins them to a 7-day NOAA weather forecast for each station.

What is cfs?

Cubic feet per second — the standard unit for streamflow. One cfs is about 7.5 gallons per second. Small creeks run at single-digit cfs; the Mississippi at hundreds of thousands.

What does Gauge Height mean?

The water level at the gauge in feet above the reference datum. Used together with discharge to track river state. Flood stage and runnable levels are typically expressed in gauge height (e.g., "flood at 16 ft").

How fresh is the Minnesota data?

USGS streamgauges report every 15 minutes; Snoflo re-pulls throughout the day. The AI briefing regenerates daily.

Can I get a flow alert for a Minnesota gauge?

Yes. Save any USGS gauge as a favorite in the Snoflo iOS app, set a discharge or stage threshold (e.g. "alert me when discharge crosses 2,000 cfs"), and you'll get a push the moment it crosses.

Is this a substitute for an NWS flood warning?

No. Snoflo is informational. For flood life-safety decisions always follow guidance from your local NWS forecast office and state emergency management. Snoflo data is one input among several.