650  
FGUS73 KBIS 242035  
ESFBIS  
NDC009-013-023-049-069-075-079-101-250445-  
 
PROBABILISTIC HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND  
335 PM CDT FRI OCT 24 2025  
 
   
..FLOOD AND WATER RESOURCES OUTLOOK  
 
 
THIS FLOOD AND WATER RESOURCES OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOURIS RIVER BASIN  
OF NORTH DAKOTA, COVERING THE PERIOD OF 27 OCTOBER, 2025 THROUGH  
25 JANUARY, 2026.  
 
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE HAS FOUR SECTIONS. THE FIRST PROVIDES SOME  
TEXT ON THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS OUTLOOK AND CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE  
LOCAL HYDROLOGY. THE SECOND SECTION GIVES THE CURRENT AND HISTORICAL  
RISKS OF FLOODING AS DETERMINED BY THE ENSEMBLE STREAMFLOW FORECAST  
MODEL OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. THE THIRD SECTION GIVES THE  
CURRENT PROBABILITIES FOR REACHING FLOOD STAGE AT THE LISTED  
FORECAST LOCATIONS. AND FINALLY, THE FOURTH SECTION COVERS THE RISK  
OF THE RIVER SITES FALLING BELOW THE LISTED STAGES.  
   
..FLOOD OUTLOOK HIGHLIGHTS  
 
ALL FORECAST LOCATIONS IN THE SOURIS RIVER BASIN OF NORTH DAKOTA ARE  
AT NORMAL RISK OF FLOODING FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.  
   
..SNOWPACK CONDITIONS  
 
NO SNOW EXISTS IN THE SOURIS RIVER BASIN OF NORTH DAKOTA.  
   
..CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS  
 
ONLY THE VERY WESTERN EDGES OF DIVIDE AND WILLIAMS COUNTIES HAVE A  
D0 (ABNORMALLY DRY) DROUGHT DESIGNATION.  
   
..RESERVOIRS AND NATURAL WETLANDS  
 
RESERVOIRS AND NATURAL WETLANDS CONTINUE TO FARE REASONABLY WELL  
DESPITE THE DROUGHT OF EARLIER IN THE YEAR.  
   
..SOIL CONDITIONS  
 
SOILS REMAIN NEAR NORMAL TO SOMEWHAT ABOVE NORMAL WITH RESPECT TO  
BOTH SOIL MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURE.  
   
..WEATHER OUTLOOK  
 
THE NEAR TERM 6-10 AND 8-14 DAY WEATHER OUTLOOKS STRONGLY FAVOR  
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND GENERALLY FAVOR NEAR NORMAL TO BELOW  
NORMAL PRECIPITATION. LOOKING A LITTLE FARTHER INTO THE FUTURE AND  
THE WEEKS 3-4 OUTLOOKS CONTINUE TO FAVOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES  
WITH A SLIGHT FAVORING OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION EVEN THOUGH THE  
FULL MONTH OUTLOOKS FOR NOVEMBER REFLECT EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE  
NORMAL, NEAR NORMAL, OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL  
PRECIPITATION. THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE CURRENT UNSEASONABLE WARM  
TEMPERATURES WILL FADE THE FARTHER ONE GETS INTO NOVEMBER.  
 
LOOKING EVEN LONGER TERM, THE 3-MONTH OUTLOOKS COVERING NOVEMBER,  
DECEMBER, AND JANUARY HAVE THE REGION WITH EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE  
NORMAL, NEAR NORMAL, OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH A SLIGHT  
FAVORING FOR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION.  
 
IN TABLE 1 BELOW, THE CURRENT (CS) AND HISTORICAL (HS) OR NORMAL  
PROBABILITIES OF EXCEEDING MINOR...MODERATE...AND MAJOR FLOOD STAGE  
ARE LISTED FOR THE VALID TIME PERIOD.  
 
CS VALUES INDICATE THE PROBABILITY OF REACHING A FLOOD CATEGORY  
BASED ON CURRENT CONDITIONS.  
 
HS VALUES INDICATE THE PROBABILITY OF REACHING A FLOOD CATEGORY  
BASED ON HISTORICAL OR NORMAL CONDITIONS.  
 
WHEN THE VALUE OF CS IS GREATER THAN HS...THE PROBABILITY OF  
EXCEEDING THAT LEVEL IS HIGHER THAN NORMAL. WHEN THE VALUE OF CS IS  
LESS THAN HS...THE PROBABILITY OF EXCEEDING THAT LEVEL IS LOWER  
THAN NORMAL.  
   
..TABLE 1--PROBABILITIES FOR MINOR...MODERATE AND MAJOR FLOODING  
 
 
VALID PERIOD: 10/27/2025 - 01/25/2026  
: CURRENT AND HISTORICAL  
: CHANCES OF EXCEEDING  
: FLOOD CATEGORIES  
: AS A PERCENTAGE (%)  
CATEGORICAL :  
FLOOD STAGES (FT) : MINOR MODERATE MAJOR  
LOCATION MINOR MOD MAJOR : CS HS CS HS CS HS  
-------- ----- ----- ----- : --- --- --- --- --- ---  
:DES LACS  
FOXHOLM 1651.0 1653.0 1654.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
:SOURIS  
SHERWOOD 1623.0 1625.0 1630.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
FOXHOLM 1573.0 1576.0 1578.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
MINOT 1562.0 1565.0 1570.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
MINOT 1551.0 1553.0 1557.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
LOGAN 1536.0 1538.0 1540.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
SAWYER 1524.0 1526.0 1528.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
VELVA 1507.0 1512.0 1517.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
:WINTERING  
KARLSRUHE 1509.0 1511.0 1512.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
:SOURIS  
TOWNER 1454.0 1456.0 1458.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
BANTRY 1440.0 1441.0 1443.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
:WILLOW CREEK  
WILLOW CITY 1442.0 1446.0 1448.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
:SOURIS  
WESTHOPE 1414.0 1418.0 1420.0 : <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5  
 
LEGEND  
CS = CONDITIONAL SIMULATION (CURRENT OUTLOOK)  
HS = HISTORICAL SIMULATION  
FT = FEET  
 
IN TABLE 2 BELOW...THE 95 THROUGH 5 PERCENT COLUMNS INDICATE THE  
PROBABILITY OF EXCEEDING THE LISTED STAGE LEVELS (FT) FOR THE VALID  
TIME PERIOD.  
   
..TABLE 2--EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITIES  
 
CHANCE OF EXCEEDING STAGES  
AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS  
VALID PERIOD: 10/27/2025 - 01/25/2026  
LOCATION 95% 90% 75% 50% 25% 10% 5%  
-------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------  
:DES LACS  
FOXHOLM 1639.4 1639.4 1639.4 1639.4 1639.5 1640.5 1641.2  
:SOURIS  
SHERWOOD 1610.0 1610.0 1610.0 1610.0 1610.0 1610.0 1610.1  
FOXHOLM 1569.9 1569.9 1569.9 1570.0 1570.2 1570.4 1570.6  
MINOT 1552.8 1552.8 1552.9 1552.9 1553.1 1553.3 1553.4  
MINOT 1542.0 1542.0 1542.0 1542.1 1542.2 1542.3 1542.4  
LOGAN 1524.4 1524.4 1524.5 1524.6 1524.8 1525.2 1525.5  
SAWYER 1510.3 1510.3 1510.3 1510.4 1510.5 1510.8 1511.0  
VELVA 1493.2 1493.2 1493.2 1493.2 1493.5 1494.3 1494.9  
:WINTERING  
KARLSRUHE 1504.3 1504.3 1504.3 1504.3 1504.3 1504.4 1505.8  
:SOURIS  
TOWNER 1449.4 1449.4 1449.4 1449.5 1449.7 1450.0 1450.2  
BANTRY 1434.9 1435.0 1435.0 1435.1 1435.3 1435.8 1436.0  
:WILLOW CREEK  
WILLOW CITY 1437.1 1437.1 1437.1 1437.1 1437.1 1437.2 1437.3  
:SOURIS  
WESTHOPE 1411.2 1411.2 1411.2 1411.2 1411.3 1411.5 1411.9  
 
IN TABLE 3 BELOW...THE 95 THROUGH 5 PERCENT COLUMNS INDICATE THE  
PROBABILITY OF FALLING BELOW THE LISTED STAGE LEVELS (FT) FOR  
THE VALID TIME PERIOD.  
   
..TABLE 3--NONEXCEEDANCE PROBABILITIES  
 
CHANCE OF FALLING BELOW STAGES  
AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS  
VALID PERIOD: 10/27/2025 - 01/25/2026  
LOCATION 95% 90% 75% 50% 25% 10% 5%  
-------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------  
:DES LACS  
FOXHOLM 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
:SOURIS  
SHERWOOD 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
FOXHOLM 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
MINOT 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
MINOT 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
LOGAN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
SAWYER 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
VELVA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
:WINTERING  
KARLSRUHE 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
:SOURIS  
TOWNER 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
BANTRY 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
:WILLOW CREEK  
WILLOW CITY 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
:SOURIS  
WESTHOPE 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0  
 
THESE LONG-RANGE PROBABILISTIC OUTLOOKS CONTAIN FORECAST VALUES THAT  
ARE CALCULATED USING MULTIPLE SEASON SCENARIOS FROM 30 OR MORE YEARS  
OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA...INCLUDING CURRENT CONDITIONS OF THE  
RIVER...SOIL MOISTURE...SNOW COVER AND 30 TO 90 DAY LONG-RANGE  
OUTLOOKS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION. BY PROVIDING A RANGE  
OF PROBABILITIES...THE LEVEL OF RISK ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-RANGE  
PLANNING DECISIONS CAN BE DETERMINED. THESE PROBABILISTIC  
FORECASTS ARE PART OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE'S ADVANCED  
HYDROLOGIC PREDICTION SERVICE.  
 
VISIT OUR WEB SITE WEATHER.GOV/BIS FOR MORE WEATHER AND WATER  
INFORMATION.  
 
THE NEXT OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.  
 
 
 
SCHLAG  
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