Rivers in Kansas

Little Osage River at Fulton

Bourbon County, KansasNWS FTNK1USGS 06917000Springfield office

Below flood stage
2.80ftStage

Observed Wed, Sep 23, 5:45 AM CDT

Flood stage
22.00 ft
Record crest
35.21 ft1986

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood30.00 ft
Moderate flood25.00 ft
Minor flood22.00 ft
Action20.00 ft
  1. 35.21 ftthe is the record stage reached on October 3, 1986.
  2. 33.00 ftflood waters begin to impact the railroad tracks between the gage site and the town of Fulton, on Old Highway 69.
  3. 32.46 ftThis is the level reached on June 30 2007.
  4. 30.00 ftmajor flooding begins at the gage site. Flood waters reach the bottom of Old Highway 69 bridge at the previous gage site.
  5. 25.00 ftFarmland at the gage site becomes covered by flood waters, and Highway 31, east of town becomes flooded. Highway 31, four miles west of Fulton has flood waters four to six feet in depth. 225th Street, near Xavier Road, 1 mile east of Fulton is flooded.
  6. 22.00 ftFlood waters mainly affect farmland along the Little Osage River Basin between the gage site and Highway 31 west of Fulton.
  7. 21.00 ftflood waters begin to overflow Kansas State Highway 31, four miles west of Fulton.
  8. 16.00 ftthe Kansas Department of Transportation closes portions of Highway 31 near Fulton.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding16%
Moderate flooding11%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 23, 2026.

Crest history

93 crests on NOAA’s list since 1949.

#DateStage
1October 3, 198635.21 ft
2April 28, 199432.61 ft
3June 30, 200732.46 ft
4July 1, 196930.03 ft
5May 6, 196129.38 ft
6May 22, 201928.96 ft
7September 14, 199828.95 ft
8May 2, 195428.93 ft
9July 12, 195128.75 ft
10July 19, 195028.50 ft
11July 17, 195828.43 ft
12April 2, 198828.31 ft
13June 10, 199528.05 ft
14April 30, 201728.02 ft
15April 28, 200927.92 ft
16February 21, 199727.64 ft
17September 25, 199327.62 ft
18September 17, 201027.54 ft
19February 23, 198527.52 ft
20November 4, 197427.48 ft
21November 16, 198527.40 ft
22March 15, 199027.31 ft
23May 6, 202227.20 ft
24March 11, 197427.20 ft
25April 19, 197027.18 ft

Most recent crests

  • June 2, 2022: 24.50 ft
  • May 6, 2022: 27.20 ft
  • September 6, 2021: 26.94 ft
  • July 16, 2021: 25.87 ft
  • June 29, 2021: 22.73 ft
  • June 27, 2021: 24.03 ft
  • June 27, 2021: 24.04 ft
  • March 18, 2021: 27.18 ft
  • March 18, 2021: 27.16 ft
  • March 15, 2021: 25.34 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Missouri Basin River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. Gauge reading may be affected by ice.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.