Missouri River level at Williston
North Dakota · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 06330110 — MISSOURI RIVER NO. 9 AT WILLISTON, ND
Reading taken · as of 28 min ago
About normal for the date
At 22.68 ft, this gauge is inside the middle half of the 57 years USGS has recorded for this date (1959–2026), against a 24 ft median.
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Flow history at Williston
Daily values from USGS 06330110, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About Missouri River at Williston
In North Dakota, below Lake Sakakawea. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lake Sakakawea. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Missouri River at Williston — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lake Sakakawea affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Missouri River at Williston high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median gage height for late September here is 24 ft, from 57 years of record (1959–2026). Today sits inside the middle half of those years. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 06330110 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.