Rivers in Alabama

Black Warrior River below Selden Dam

Hale County, AlabamaNWS WLDA1USGS 02466030Calera office

Below flood stage
73.82ftStage

Observed Wed, Sep 23, 12:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
90.00 ft
Forecast crest
74.20 ftWed, Sep 23, 1:00 AM CDT
Record crest
109.90 ft1961

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood105.00 ft
Moderate flood102.00 ft
Minor flood90.00 ft
Action90.00 ft
  1. 105.00 ftSevere residential flooding occurs in the area...and evacuations may become necessary.
  2. 102.00 ftRoads completely inundated around Lock 5. Signigicant residential flooding begins in this area. Roads around Jennings Ferry are flooded. Cabins along County Road 38 in Hale County and near the COE facility will be cut off.
  3. 98.00 ftBetween 98 and 100 feet, some cabins and trailers along the river begin to flood around the Lock 5 area. Yards and roads are flooded around 99 feet along Meadowlark Lane, Prairie Creek Road, Bavey Drive and Jackson Branch Road. County Road 38 in the Hale County begins to flood near the COE facility.
  4. 94.00 ftBetween 94 and 97 feet, some secondary roads near Lock 5 park and Sandpiper Road begin to flood and could cut off residents. Some roads leading into Roebuck Landing are flooded between 96 and 97 feet. Flooding of farm and pasture lands continues.
  5. 90.00 ftPasture and wood lands begin to flood. Livestock should be moved to higher ground at stages above 90 feet.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding8%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 15, 2026.

Crest history

82 crests on NOAA’s list since 1961.

#DateStage
1February 25, 1961109.90 ft
2April 16, 1979106.80 ft
3February 20, 1990104.40 ft
4April 7, 2000103.50 ft
5December 22, 1961102.40 ft
6March 24, 1980101.90 ft
7March 24, 1970101.70 ft
8April 9, 1977101.70 ft
9January 11, 2009101.55 ft
10January 11, 1998101.38 ft
11December 31, 2015101.08 ft
12February 26, 2019101.06 ft
13February 9, 2004100.61 ft
14January 1, 2019100.48 ft
15December 8, 1983100.40 ft
16May 24, 198399.90 ft
17April 10, 201499.86 ft
18April 3, 197699.80 ft
19March 8, 202099.26 ft
20February 3, 199999.26 ft
21March 10, 199698.97 ft
22January 31, 199698.40 ft
23March 14, 201098.27 ft
24April 22, 202097.80 ft
25April 16, 202097.69 ft

Most recent crests

  • May 14, 2025: 92.05 ft
  • April 10, 2025: 96.42 ft
  • February 15, 2025: 90.43 ft
  • February 14, 2024: 94.49 ft
  • April 10, 2023: 92.14 ft
  • December 16, 2022: 91.81 ft
  • April 19, 2022: 90.48 ft
  • March 20, 2022: 90.38 ft
  • February 26, 2022: 93.20 ft
  • February 20, 2022: 90.56 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Southeast River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. 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. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.