Rivers in Kansas

Pawnee River near Sanford

Pawnee County, KansasNWS SANK1Dodge City office

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood30.00 ft
Moderate flood27.00 ft
Minor flood24.00 ft
Action20.00 ft

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

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

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 21, 2026.

Crest history

23 crests on NOAA’s list since 1949.

#DateStage
1July 25, 197928.74 ft
2July 28, 195828.22 ft
3June 23, 195127.54 ft
4July 11, 195127.52 ft
5July 1, 195126.98 ft
6August 13, 195026.86 ft
7May 23, 195126.68 ft
8October 3, 195026.17 ft
9June 13, 195126.06 ft
10August 3, 195325.89 ft
11July 22, 199325.77 ft
12April 2, 197324.96 ft
13March 22, 196024.66 ft
14May 25, 201924.40 ft
15June 28, 195722.82 ft
16June 15, 197022.35 ft
17June 14, 194922.09 ft
18July 7, 195820.15 ft
19May 18, 195120.11 ft
20March 26, 197320.10 ft
21November 17, 199619.90 ft
22September 22, 199616.10 ft
23July 1, 199215.20 ft

Most recent crests

  • May 25, 2019: 24.40 ft
  • November 17, 1996: 19.90 ft
  • September 22, 1996: 16.10 ft
  • July 22, 1993: 25.77 ft
  • July 1, 1992: 15.20 ft
  • July 25, 1979: 28.74 ft
  • April 2, 1973: 24.96 ft
  • March 26, 1973: 20.10 ft
  • June 15, 1970: 22.35 ft
  • March 22, 1960: 24.66 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Arkansas-Red Basin RFC. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. Stage measured manually and reported by river observer. No automated gauge on-site.

Sources

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