Flooding and Heavy Rain in Nebraska, May 4 to 14, 2007

Record heavy rain fell over most of Douglas county from Friday May 4th through late Sunday night May 6th. Eppley airfield measured 7.46 inches while 4.39 inches was recorded at the NWS office in Valley. The heavy rain caused widespread ponding of water throughout Douglas county and caused some sewers to backup across the Omaha area. Most of the streets that were flooded because of the backed up sewers were in the older eastern sections of the city. Many basements were also flooded throughout town. In addition, 100 vehicles were flooded at the Eppley Airport north long-term parking lot due to backed up storm drains.

Rainfall of around 7 to 7.5 inches fell from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th in the Bellevue area. The heavy rain caused considerable ponding of water on several city streets and Highways in the area, and left area golf courses submerged in water which shut them down for several days afterward.

Heavy rain over 3 days caused Turkey Creek to flood across much of Saline county. The creek at Wilber crested at 16.44 feet during the morning hours of May 7th, flood stage is 11 feet. The creek at Wilber first crossed flood stage around 745 pm CDT on the 5th and didn't drop below flood stage until a little after noon on the 8th.| |The Creek flooded across Highway 103 causing its closure near Wilber. Flooding from Turkey Creek and the Big Blue River also caused 100 county road washouts and closed 20 county roads. Flooding of agricultural lowlands also occurred. Flood damage from both Turkey Creek and the Big Blue River was estimated at $100,000.

Rainfall of 3.5 to 5 inches fell over most of Washington county from Friday into Sunday morning May 6th. This produced widespread flooding of lowlands that lingered into Sunday. Most of the flooding was due to Bell Creek and Rawhide Creek backing up because of high flows in the Elkhorn River, which they both empty into. The flooding affected farmland and several county and city roads and threatened several homes.

Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches fell over much of the Salt Creek basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. Lincoln reported nearly 5 inches of rain during this time. The heavy rain caused Salt Creek to flood, mainly from around the Greenwood area downstream to where it merges with the Platte River near Ashland. At Greenwood the creek surpassed it's 20 foot flood stage around 5 am CDT on May 6th, reached a 23.8 foot crest at 1130 am and fell below flood stage around 815 pm that day.

Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches fell over much of the Little Nemaha River basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th, with 4.94 inches reported in Auburn. The heavy rain caused the Little Nemaha River to flood over several days with a double crest observed both the 6th and 7th. The river at Auburn first crossed its 22 foot flood stage around 515 am cdt on May 6th, reached its first crest around 23.6 feet around noon that day, fell below flood stage around 5 pm and then moved back over flood stage around 330 am cdt on May 7th. The River at Auburn then reached a second crest, peaking at 23.9 feet around 815 am on May 7th before falling below flood stage for good around 215 pm cdt that afternoon. The flooding closed Highway 136 near Auburn Saturday night May 5th.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th caused a prolonged flood along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. At Plattsmouth the Missouri River crested just over 30 feet for around 6 hours during the early morning hours of May 7th. Flood stage at Plattsmouth is 26 feet. The river at Plattsmouth first crossed flood stage around 545 am CDT on the 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until a little after midnight CDT on the 9th. The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, but some county roads were closed due to the flood waters as well as a local marina.

Rainfall of 4 to 5 inches fell over much of the Weeping Water Creek basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th, with 4.88 inches reported in Plattsmouth. The heavy rain caused Weeping Water Creek to flood for two days, with a double crest observed on May 6th and 7th. The creek at Union first crossed it's 25 foot flood stage around 730 am CDT on May 6th, reached it's first crest of around 26.3 feet just before noon that day, fell below flood stage around 330 pm and then moved back over flood stage around 245 am CDT on May 7th. The creek at Union then reached a second crest, peaking close to 30 feet around 8 am on May 7th before falling back below flood stage for good around 1145 am CDT that morning. Besides flooding farmland, the high water also caused damage to a few county roads.

Rainfall of 4 to 5 inches fell over much of the Big Blue River basin in Gage county from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th, with 4.26 inches reported in Beatrice. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River to flood with both the gage in Beatrice and near Barneston reporting above flood stage readings for a few days. In Beatrice the Big Blue River reached a 23.9 foot crest around 230 pm CDT on May 7th, flood stage 16 feet. The river first crossed flood stage in Beatrice around 815 am on May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until 730 am on the 9th.|At Barneston the Big Blue River reached a 24.5 foot crest around 345 pm CDT on May 7th, flood stage is 20 feet. The river near Barneston was above flood stage from around 1000 pm CDT May 6th until 315 am on the 9th.|The river flooded agricultural farmland and county roads in the region. Seven county roads were flooded from Beatrice toward Blue Springs and Wymore. Highway 136 was also closed late May 6th through May 7th around the Beatrice area because of high water that also flooded a park and some streets in town causing around $135,000 worth of damage to the park and ballfields. Two businesses had to be evacuated in Beatrice. The flood waters also prompted 5000 sandbags to be placed around a historical museum to keep flood waters from damaging historic items. Also a grain elevator near Holmesville, several miles southeast of Beatrice, was also sandbagged to protect from the rising waters. Total damage from the storms that hit Gage county on May 5th and 6th amounted to around $650,000, most of which was due to flooding.

Rainfall of 4 to 7 inches fell over the lower sections of the Big Nemaha River basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. Falls City reported 7.15 inches during this time. The heavy rain caused the Big Nemaha River to flood, with the river at Falls City reaching a 30.3 foot crest around noon CDT on May 7th. Flood stage is 23 feet. The river at Falls City first crossed flood stage around 830 am on May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until around 5 am on the 8th. Due to flood waters, an 8 mile stretch of old Highway 7 southeast of Rulo was closed. Flooding was also observed across some agricultural lowlands in the area.

Rainfall of 4 to 6 inches fell over much of the Big Blue River basin in Saline county from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. Wilber reported 6.3 inches and Crete measured 5.9 inches for two of the heaviest. The heavy rain caused the Big Blue River to flood with the gage near Crete reaching a 21.3 foot crest around 3 pm on May 6th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The river near Crete was above flood stage from around 9 am on May 6th until 430 am on the 7th.|Due to flooding from the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek, 20 county roads were closed with 100 washouts reported. Agricultural bottomlands were also flooded. Besides washing out newly planted crops, some farm outbuildings and irrigation equipment were damaged by flood waters. Total damage from flooding from both the Big Blue River and Turkey Creek was estimated at $100,000.

Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches fell over much of the Salt Creek basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. Lincoln reported nearly 5 inches. The heavy rain caused Salt Creek to flood, mainly from around the Greenwood area downstream to where it merges with the Platte River near Ashland. At Ashland the creek surpassed it's 19 foot flood stage around 9 am cdt on May 6th, reached a 20.2 foot crest at 1130 pm and fell below flood stage around 10 am on the 7th.

Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches fell over the lower sections of the Wahoo Creek basin from Friday May 4th through Sunday May 6th. The heavy rain caused Wahoo Creek to flood, mainly from just downstream of Wahoo to where it merges with Salt Creek near Ashland. At Ithaca the creek surpassed it's 19 foot flood stage around 9 am CDT on May 6th, reached a 20.7 foot crest at 5 pm and fell below flood stage around 1015 pm that day. The water flooded several county roads and Highway 66 near Ashland. A baseball field was also flooded.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th caused a prolonged flood along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. At Nebraska City the Missouri River crested just under 21.5 feet for around 8 hours from late morning until early evening on the 7th. Flood stage at Nebraska City is 18 feet. The river at Nebraska City first crossed flood stage around 915 am cdt on the 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until a little after 200 pm cdt on the 9th.|The flooding affected mainly agricultural low lands, but some county roads, including one that led to a local marina, were closed due to the flood waters.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th caused a prolonged flood along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. At Brownville the Missouri River first crossed it's 32 foot flood stage around 930 am CDT on May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until around 2 pm CDT on May 13th. The river at Brownville crested just under 39 feet from late in the evening on the 8th until mid afternoon on the 9th.|The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, but some county roads were closed due to the flood waters. In addition, the Steamboat Trace between Brownville and Peru was closed for an extended length of time due to a levy breach that significantly flooded a section of the trail leaving behind tree and other debris. Several large cottonwood trees were uprooted due to saturated soil and flood waters.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th caused a prolonged flood along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. At Rulo the Missouri River first crossed it's 17 foot flood stage around 1000 am CDT on May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until around 1000 am CDT on May 14th. The river at Rulo crested around 25 feet for a 10 to 12 hour period from the morning into mid afternoon on the 7th.|The flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, but some county roads were closed due to the flood waters. In addition, due to high water on the Missouri River, the Highway 136 Bridge across the Missouri River was closed for a while.