Rivers in Kentucky

Mississippi River at Hickman

Fulton County, KentuckyNWS HKMK2West Paducah office

Below flood stage
20.71ftStage

Observed Sun, Sep 27, 1:00 PM CDT

Flood stage
34.00 ft
Forecast crest
21.10 ftMon, Sep 28, 7:00 PM CDT
Record crest
54.29 ft2011

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood43.00 ft
Moderate flood40.00 ft
Minor flood34.00 ft
Action26.00 ft
  1. 40.00 ftThe City of Hickman will close the Hickman Gates.
  2. 34.00 ftWater is on the levee.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding6%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 16, 2026.

Crest history

5 crests on NOAA’s list since 2011.

#DateStage
1May 2, 201154.29 ft
2May 8, 201745.85 ft
3April 12, 202545.66 ft
4February 20, 202537.52 ft
5May 13, 202436.95 ft

Most recent crests

  • April 12, 2025: 45.66 ft
  • February 20, 2025: 37.52 ft
  • May 13, 2024: 36.95 ft
  • May 8, 2017: 45.85 ft
  • May 2, 2011: 54.29 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service.