Rivers in Kansas

Walnut River at Winfield

Cowley County, KansasNWS WFDK1USGS 07147800Wichita office

Below flood stage
0.77ftStage

Observed Mon, Sep 21, 8:00 PM CDT

Flood stage
18.00 ft
Record crest
41.00 ft1928

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood29.00 ft
Moderate flood22.00 ft
Minor flood18.00 ft
Action16.00 ft
  1. 47.00 ftMajor flooding can be expected as the river begins to overtop the levees near the Highway 77 Bridge. Most of Winfield will be inundated.
  2. 45.00 ftThe levee may become overtopped in the northern part of Winfield.
  3. 30.50 ftFlood waters cover sections of Highway 77 north of Winfield and the road under Highway 77 bridge south of town.
  4. 30.00 ftFlooding occurs along the south bank, inundating the small road leading away from Highway 77 to the Highland Cemetery.
  5. 28.00 ftWest 14th Avenue near the fairgrounds, floods from the river on eastward to the levee.
  6. 22.00 ftA large portion of the fairgrounds flood along with rural roads about 3 miles northwest of Winfield that are near the river. Then one mile west of the city of Rock, expect 30th Road to be closed due to high water.
  7. 20.00 ftFlood waters flow over County Road Cowley 2 west of the city of Rock. Then 4 miles northwest of Winfield, Cowley County Road 18 floods over a section just west of 71st Road.
  8. 18.00 ftFlooding of the campgrounds and fairgrounds can be expected.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding15%
Moderate flooding5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

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

Crest history

115 crests on NOAA’s list since 1898.

#DateStage
1November 18, 192841.00 ft
2June 10, 192338.70 ft
3April 23, 194438.30 ft
4November 2, 199837.81 ft
5July 1, 195137.80 ft
6June 10, 199537.75 ft
7June 10, 199537.30 ft
8May 9, 201936.72 ft
9June 30, 195136.00 ft
10June 6, 196535.97 ft
11April 17, 194535.92 ft
12July 1, 200735.50 ft
13May 6, 196135.36 ft
14May 22, 201935.28 ft
15June 10, 197935.24 ft
16July 8, 190435.20 ft
17September 30, 194535.00 ft
18October 1, 194534.70 ft
19July 5, 197634.51 ft
20May 26, 201934.21 ft
21October 4, 192634.20 ft
22November 17, 196433.90 ft
23October 12, 197333.80 ft
24January 1, 195033.57 ft
25May 20, 194333.53 ft

Most recent crests

  • June 27, 2026: 24.61 ft
  • June 26, 2026: 23.77 ft
  • June 21, 2026: 18.87 ft
  • June 18, 2025: 17.01 ft
  • June 6, 2025: 25.06 ft
  • November 4, 2024: 10.28 ft
  • July 6, 2023: 5.75 ft
  • May 7, 2022: 23.73 ft
  • June 27, 2021: 15.82 ft
  • May 17, 2020: 25.72 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. River forecasts for this location take into account past and future precipitation. Forecast stages may be different if forecast future rainfall does not occur. Stage may be affected by ice during winter months.

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.