2025-12-17T18:00:00-07:00
* AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 241, 242, 243, 245 and 246. * TIMING...Until 6 PM MST this evening. * WINDS...West 15 to 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 16 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
Sauk River
was last observed at
43,050
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
85,389
acre-ft of water today; about 537%
of normal.
River levels are high.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
8,018 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2025-12-11 when daily discharge volume was observed at
101,000 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Sauk River Near Sauk
reporting a streamflow rate of 33,300 cfs.
This is also the highest stage along the Sauk River, with a gauge stage of
10.62 ft at this location.
This river is monitored from 4 different streamgauging stations along the Sauk River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 1,024 ft, the
Sauk River Near St. Cloud.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-17 |
| Discharge Volume | 85,389 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
43,050.0 cfs
-3600.0 cfs (-7.72%) |
| Percent of Normal | 536.89% |
| Maximum |
101,000.0 cfs
2025-12-11 |
| Seasonal Avg | 8,018 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sauk River Near St. Cloud
USGS 05270500 |
225 cfs | 3.49 ft | -15.41 | |||||
|
Sauk River Ab Whitechuck River Near Darrington
USGS 12186000 |
9750 cfs | 7.98 ft | 27.45 | |||||
|
Sauk River At Darrington
USGS 12187500 |
5220 cfs | 8.24 ft | ||||||
|
Sauk River Near Sauk
USGS 12189500 |
33300 cfs | 10.62 ft | -14.62 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Sauk River is a 122-mile-long (196 km) tributary of the Mississippi River in central Minnesota in the United States. It drains small lakes in Stearns County. In the Ojibwe language it is called Ozaagi-ziibi, meaning "River of the Sauks".It issues from Lake Osakis on the Todd County line and flows east through Guernsey Lake, Little Sauk Lake and Juergens Lake, then south through Sauk Lake and past Sauk Centre, southeast past Melrose and Richmond, then northeast through Cedar Island Lake and Zumwalde Lake, past Cold Spring and Waite Park to the Mississippi River 2 miles (3 km) north of St. Cloud.
The rapids that occur south of the river's mouth on the Mississippi River lent their name to the nearby city of Sauk Rapids.