St. Croix River Water Level Crests at 686.09 Feet

Editor's note: This is no longer the most recent  post. 

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As of 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, 2011, the St. Croix River water level was receding at 686.07 feet in Stillwater, MN. The river reached its highest level, or crest, at 686.09 feet at 4 a.m. and remained at that level until it went down to 686.08 at noon. Some reports call for a second crest at some point in April.

On Wednesday, the city because of the rising flood waters. Businesses in the Riverfront Square building on Buckeye Street (, and ) have not been affected and remain open. Portions of Front Street have been under water all week.

On Monday, the National Weather Service issued a report that said the first crest on the St. Croix River at Stillwater is expected to crest below flood stage, but concerns remain that a second crest may be higher.

The following is from the report:

"Since the levels on the St. Croix River are highly dependent on the levels of the Mississippi, the lower crests on the Mississippi has lowered the crest levels on the St. Croix. A snow pack still remains in the Crow and Minnesota River basins as well as the upper St. Croix River. ... An increased risk for flooding remains when the final melt occurs. The extended weather forecast keeps below normal temperatures across the region through the end of March. ... As the final melt pushes more into April, the risk increases for a rapid melt either by temperatures, a heavy rain event, or both."

The area remains under a flood warning and Hudson Mayor Alan Burchill has declared a flood emergency in Hudson. See a live video stream of the flood at First and Buckeye streets in Hudson by going to http://patch.com/buTux.

About the water levels

The average water level in Hudson is 675 feet. The following are elevations (in feet) of various areas in Hudson that are prone to flooding, according to the city's flood work plan:

• Seawall at Lakefront Park: 680
• Second tier at Lakefront Park: 684
• Lowest elevation of Front Street: 684.9
• First Street (between Buckeye Street and Commercial Street): 685.8
• Floor of Buckeye Street Garage: 686.75
• Top of Lake Mallalieu dam gates: 688.3
• Slab elevation at Lakefront Park bathhouse: 690
• Top of Dike Road: 691
• Abandoned railroad bed north of Vine Street to St. Croix Street: 692

Hudson flood history

The highest flood elevations (in feet) in Hudson history are the following, according to the city:

• 694.1 in 1965
• 692.3 in 2001
• 692.2 in 1969
• 690.45 in 1997
• 689.7 in 1952
• 687.9 in 1993
• 687.5 in 1986
• 687.3 in 1975
• 685.93 in 2010

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Editor's Note: The statistics and forecasts from this article come from theAdvanced Hydrologic Prediction Service provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NOAA-NWS).