St. Croix River level at St. Croix Falls
Wisconsin · Tubing & floating
Measured at USGS 05340500 — ST. CROIX RIVER AT ST. CROIX FALLS, WI · NWS forecast point SCFW3
Reading taken · as of 28 min ago
Low and slow — expect to drag in the shallows
At 1,530 CFS, this gauge is in the lowest 10% of the 119 years USGS has recorded for this date (1902–2026), at 55% of the 2,760 CFS median.
Sponsor St. Croix River
One exclusive sponsor per river, on every gauge page for it.
Cancel anytime · Questions?
Flow history at St. Croix Falls
Daily values from USGS 05340500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for SCFW3 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at St. Croix Falls
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 25.88 ft | 60,900 CFS | Apr 25, 2001 |
| 25.19 ft | 54,900 CFS | May 8, 1950 |
| 22.67 ft | 52,000 CFS | Apr 16, 2023 |
| 20.98 ft | 45,700 CFS | Apr 18, 1965 |
| 20.53 ft | 44,600 CFS | Mar 20, 1945 |
| 20.40 ft | 44,400 CFS | May 4, 1954 |
| 19.80 ft | — | Apr 15, 2001 |
| 19.13 ft | — | Apr 8, 1997 |
| 17.12 ft | 35,100 CFS | Jun 20, 2018 |
| 16.54 ft | 37,200 CFS | May 31, 2012 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls
This station carries 121 years of published daily statistics, 1902 to 2026, and 120 annual peaks. That is among the deepest records anywhere on this site, which means the seasonal median this page compares today's reading against is drawn from more than a century rather than a decade.
Across that record the river has a pronounced spring: a median of 8,470 CFS in April against 2,090 in February, a four to one lift on a 6,240 square mile drainage. The largest event on file is recent, a peak of 60,900 CFS and a crest of 25.88 feet on 25 April 2001, and three of the five largest peaks have happened since 2001. The lowest daily mean, 75 CFS, dates to July 1910.
St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls — common questions
6 questions
How far back does the record here go?
The daily series begins on 1 January 1902 and USGS publishes statistics through 2026, roughly 121 years, with 120 annual peaks on file. The percent of normal figure above is therefore compared against a century scale median, which makes it more meaningful here than on the newer stations elsewhere on this site.
When is the river highest?
April, clearly. The published April median is 8,470 CFS, with May at 5,940 and June at 4,150, against a winter floor near 2,100. The largest peaks follow the same pattern: 25 April 2001 at 60,900 CFS, 8 May 1950 at 54,900 and 16 April 2023 at 52,000. The July 2016 peak of 52,400 CFS is the notable exception.
How much bigger is this river than the Apple?
Roughly eight times. The Apple River at Somerset, 19.3 miles away, has 1,066 days of overlapping record with this gauge since late 2023, and across them this station carried a median of about 7.79 times the Apple's flow, with a correlation of 0.802. The Apple's own record is only three years deep, so this gauge is the better historical reference of the two.
Does rain upstream change St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls quickly?
Yes. It is free-flowing, so rain upstream moves it directly. Several feet in a few hours is normal after a heavy storm.
Is St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for late September here is 2,760 CFS, from 119 years of record (1902–2026). Today sits in the lowest 10% of those years, at 55% of the median. 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 05340500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for SCFW3 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.