Rivers in Oklahoma

Arkansas River at Ralston

Pawnee County, OklahomaNWS RLSO2USGS 07152500Tulsa office

Below flood stage
3.73ftStage

Observed Mon, Sep 21, 11:00 PM CDT

Flood stage
16.00 ft
Record crest
23.00 ft1923

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood21.00 ft
Moderate flood18.00 ft
Minor flood16.00 ft
Action16.00 ft
  1. 24.00 ftvery severe flooding occurs. The Ralston sewage treatment plant levees may be overtopped when the stage reaches 24 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  2. 22.00 ftsevere agricultural flooding occurs. Water levels are within 2 feet of topping the Ralston sewage treatment levees when the stage reaches 22 feet. This is a dangerous situation.
  3. 21.00 ftsevere agricultural flooding occurs. Water levels need to be patrolled as the levees around the Ralston sewage treatment plant are topped when the stage reaches 24 feet. This is a dangerous situation.
  4. 20.00 ftsevere agricultural flooding occurs. The levee around the Ralston sewage treatment plant may need to be patrolled.
  5. 18.00 ftmoderate inundation of farmlands occurs mainly along the north bank.
  6. 16.00 ftminor agricultural flooding occurs on the north bank.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding11%
Moderate flooding7%
Major floodingUnder 5%

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

Crest history

195 crests on NOAA’s list since 1923.

#DateStage
1June 11, 192323.00 ft
2October 13, 197322.98 ft
3April 25, 194422.82 ft
4November 18, 196422.60 ft
5November 15, 196422.60 ft
6October 4, 198622.20 ft
7May 23, 201922.14 ft
8May 26, 201922.03 ft
9May 25, 201921.99 ft
10October 5, 195921.62 ft
11July 3, 195121.45 ft
12May 20, 195721.41 ft
13May 8, 196121.22 ft
14July 16, 195120.28 ft
15July 1, 195719.88 ft
16May 12, 199319.69 ft
17April 19, 194519.55 ft
18October 2, 194519.48 ft
19March 12, 197319.41 ft
20May 21, 201919.26 ft
21May 20, 195119.23 ft
22October 6, 192618.70 ft
23November 5, 197418.62 ft
24June 24, 194218.54 ft
25April 16, 194718.50 ft

Most recent crests

  • June 25, 2026: 16.47 ft
  • June 18, 2025: 16.50 ft
  • June 9, 2025: 15.27 ft
  • May 26, 2019: 22.03 ft
  • May 25, 2019: 21.99 ft
  • May 23, 2019: 22.14 ft
  • May 21, 2019: 19.26 ft
  • May 12, 2019: 17.93 ft
  • October 12, 2018: 16.18 ft
  • September 16, 2008: 16.39 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 precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 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.