River Forecasts for the Big Sioux River near Hawarden changing to a new gauging location

The National Weather Service (NWS) will be changing the location of the river forecast point for the Big Sioux River near Hawarden from the current location on the west edge of Hawarden (HAWI4) to the new gauging location at the SD Highway 46/ IA Highway 10 bridge (HWDI4) on January 1, 2017. The primary reason for this move is because of updated equipment at the new location that will provide near real-time river observations around the clock vs. a manual river gauge at the current location where we would only receive river observations a handful of times per day and only during times of high water levels. The equipment at the old site will remain in place for supplemental observations, but the NWS will provide forecasts and warnings only for the new site after January 1.

The new gauge has been installed by the USGS with cooperation from the State of South Dakota, and is part of an on-going project to improve flood observations and forecasts for the lower portions of the Big Sioux River.

Information for the new site (HWDI4) can be found here.

Information for the old site (HAWI4) can be found here.