2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR IN AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE FOOTHILLS, BETWEEN 5500 AND 9000 FEET, FOR BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES ON FRIDAY... Strong west winds of 30-40 mph with gusts as high as 85 mph in the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson Counties will continue until early evening. Relative humidity values had dropped into the upper single digits and lower teens. Thus, the Particularly Dangerous Situation will remain in place til around 5-6 pm, with only a slow improvement thereafter as winds slowly weaken. Red Flag conditions, however, will persist through the rest of the evening as we remain in a near record warm, dry, and windy airmass along the Front Range through midnight. In fact, strong, gusty winds will persist through much of the night with only a slow improvement in humidity values. Thus, near critical Red Flag conditions will occur into early Saturday morning. While most of the Denver metro area has seen lighter winds prevail most of the day, a period of strong, gusty winds is expected to develop this evening and likely last past midnight, producing Red Flag conditions there. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 238, 240, 241, 242 and 243. * TIMING...Until midnight MST tonight. * WINDS...West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 9 percent. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Chariton River
was last observed at
168
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
333
acre-ft of water today; about 7%
of normal.
River levels are low and may signify a drought.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
2,342 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2019-05-30 when daily discharge volume was observed at
87,950 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Chariton River Near Prairie Hill
reporting a streamflow rate of 106 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
Chariton River Near Moulton
with a gauge stage of 18.86 ft.
This river is monitored from 6 different streamgauging stations along the Chariton River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 968 ft, the
Chariton River Near Chariton.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-19 |
| Discharge Volume | 333 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
168.0 cfs
-26.3 cfs (-13.54%) |
| Percent of Normal | 7.17% |
| Maximum |
87,950.0 cfs
2019-05-30 |
| Seasonal Avg | 2,342 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chariton River Near Chariton
USGS 06903400 |
2 cfs | 4.07 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Chariton River Near Rathbun
USGS 06903900 |
15 cfs | 2.1 ft | -5.84 | |||||
|
Chariton River Near Moulton
USGS 06904010 |
34 cfs | 18.86 ft | -8.87 | |||||
|
Chariton River At Livonia
USGS 06904050 |
45 cfs | 3.43 ft | ||||||
|
Chariton River At Novinger
USGS 06904500 |
48 cfs | 0.01 ft | -34.84 | |||||
|
Chariton River Near Prairie Hill
USGS 06905500 |
106 cfs | 1.35 ft | 0 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Chariton River is a 218-mile-long (351 km) tributary to the Missouri River in southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. The river forms in southeastern Clarke County, Iowa. It is dammed at 11,000-acre (45 km2) Rathbun Reservoir in Appanoose County, Iowa and then flows 30 miles (48 km) before entering Missouri where it forms the boundary between Putnam and Schuyler counties. It enters the Missouri River in Chariton County near Keytesville. 112 miles (180 km) are in Missouri and 106 miles (171 km) are in Iowa. The river has been called Missouri's "Grand Divide" because streams west of the Chariton flow into the Missouri and streams east of it flow into the Mississippi River.