Flood, Knox
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Knox forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Nebraska, February 18 to 28, 1997
Mild temperatures melted snowcover in a short time period allowing for a sudden runoff into streams and rivers which were still intact with thicker than normal ice. The runoff into the streams and rivers was sufficient to break up the ice.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $620,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 17
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.
Mild temperatures melted snowcover in a short time period allowing for a sudden runoff into streams and rivers which were still intact with thicker than normal ice. The runoff into the streams and rivers was sufficient to break up the ice. Ice jams formed at many locations causing flooding. Serious flooding occurred on the lower Loup and lower Platte rivers. The strongest and most urban flooding occurred in the stretch of the Platte river along Saunders and Sarpy counties between the mouth of the Elkhorn river to the State Highway 6 bridge near Linoma Beach/Beacon View. This was the result of a 2.5 mile long ice jam along the Platte river. Thomas Lakes was severely impacted with ice jam flooding. Beacon View homes were also flooded. Several structures at Camp Ashland were also flooded forcing the evacuation of 150 people. Some three thousand acres of farmlands in western Sarpy county were flooded as the local levee was overtopped upstream of Beacon View. Likewise, flooding entered the flood plain on the Saunders county side of the Platte. Two to three days of dynamiting of the Platte river ice jam near Beacon View beginning on the 20th did much to bust up the strongest ice jam that acted as the main blockage in the area. The Ponca creek in Knox county flooded considerable lowlands. Many county roads and State Highway 12 near Verdel flooded. Bazile creek also flooded lowlands and State Highway 12 for a brief time period. The Bazile and Ponca creeks also ran out of their banks on the east and west sides of Niobrara. The Verdigre creek near Verdigre ran out if its banks due to ice jamming. This caused the evacuation of three homes in Verdigre.Other lowland flooding occurred along the Logan creek near Uehling, the Maple creek near Nickerson, and the Loup river north of Columbus, and the Elkhorn river near West Point.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
17 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Thurston
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Thurston forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Antelope
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Antelope forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Pierce
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pierce forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.264, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Madison
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.917, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Stanton
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Stanton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.917, -97.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Cuming
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cuming forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.916, -96.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Burt
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Burt forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.852, -96.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Platte
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Platte forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.571, -97.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Dodge
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.578, -96.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Washington
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.531, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Saunders
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Saunders forecast zone
- Property damage
- $240,000
- Coordinates
- 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Douglas
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.295, -96.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Sarpy
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sarpy forecast zone
- Property damage
- $380,000
- Coordinates
- 41.113, -96.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Cass
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.910, -96.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Butler
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Butler forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Colfax
- When
- February 18, 6:00 PM CST to February 28, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Colfax forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.574, -97.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Iowa, February 18 to 24, 1997
- Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 28, 1997
- Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 23, 1997
- Flooding in Iowa, February 18 to 28, 1997
- Strong Wind in Massachusetts, February 18, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 18 to 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 21, 1997
More
Every storm in Nebraska in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, February 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5590570, 5590571, 5590572, 5590573, 5590574, 5590751, 5590752, 5590753, 5590754, 5590755, 5590756, 5590757, 5590758, 5590759, 5590760, 5590761, 5590762.