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Kenai River at Soldotna

Highest listed crest 22.62 ftFlood stage 12.0 ft64 crests since 1965

The Kenai River at Soldotna crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 64 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1965 to 2023. The highest, 22.62 ft on January 18, 1969, was major flooding, 10.62 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
22.62 ft
January 18, 1969
Flood stage
12.0 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
3
5th of 110 gauges in Alaska
Most recent flood crest
September 13, 2023
12.00 ft, minor flooding

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Kenai River at Soldotna
Action stage11.54Aug 23, 1993The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)12.09Sep 13, 2023Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.03Jan 8, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.03Jan 28, 2007Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

64 crests from 1965 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Kenai River at Soldotna, 1965 to 2023 510152025ft Flood stage 12.0 ftMajor 14.0 ft Sep 21, 1965: 9.79 ft, below flood stage; 16,100 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1966: 11.60 ft, action stage; 24,000 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 1967: 11.48 ft, below flood stage; 24,900 cubic feet per secondAug 15, 1968: 9.88 ft, below flood stage; 15,100 cubic feet per secondSep 15, 1968: 9.88 ft, below flood stage; 15,100 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1969: 22.62 ft, major floodingJul 6, 1969: 9.93 ft, below flood stage; 15,400 cubic feet per secondOct 15, 1969: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 30,000 cubic feet per secondSep 12, 1971: 11.60 ft, action stage; 24,200 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 1972: 10.20 ft, below flood stage; 16,200 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1973: 9.39 ft, below flood stage; 12,600 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 1974: 12.15 ft, minor flooding; 26,900 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 1974: 12.15 ft, minor flooding; 26,900 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1975: 10.43 ft, below flood stage; 17,200 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 1976: 11.45 ft, below flood stage; 22,700 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1977: 13.45 ft, moderate flooding; 33,700 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1978: 10.30 ft, below flood stage; 16,300 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1979: 12.30 ft, minor flooding; 26,800 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 1980: 11.10 ft, below flood stage; 20,300 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1981: 11.60 ft, action stage; 22,800 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 1982: 11.19 ft, below flood stage; 20,700 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1982: 11.10 ft, below flood stage; 20,200 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 1984: 10.59 ft, below flood stage; 17,800 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 1985: 9.90 ft, below flood stage; 14,500 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1986: 10.08 ft, below flood stage; 15,500 cubic feet per secondAug 2, 1987: 10.39 ft, below flood stage; 16,900 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 1988: 10.57 ft, below flood stage; 17,800 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 1989: 12.22 ft, minor flooding; 26,800 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1990: 10.70 ft, below flood stage; 18,400 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1991: 10.21 ft, below flood stage; 16,100 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1992: 10.48 ft, below flood stage; 17,400 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 1993: 11.52 ft, action stage; 23,600 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1994: 9.78 ft, below flood stage; 15,200 cubic feet per secondSep 24, 1995: 14.50 ft, major flooding; 42,200 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1995: 10.52 ft, below flood stage; 18,100 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 1997: 10.20 ft, below flood stage; 16,000 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1998: 10.58 ft, below flood stage; 17,800 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 1999: 10.15 ft, below flood stage; 15,800 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2000: 10.17 ft, below flood stage; 15,900 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2001: 10.84 ft, below flood stage; 20,000 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2002: 9.89 ft, below flood stage; 15,600 cubic feet per secondOct 25, 2002: 12.28 ft, minor flooding; 28,100 cubic feet per secondNov 27, 2002: 11.40 ft, below flood stage; 23,000 cubic feet per secondOct 9, 2003: 10.81 ft, below flood stage; 20,100 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 2005: 9.71 ft, below flood stage; 14,700 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 2006: 13.17 ft, moderate floodingAug 25, 2006: 10.15 ft, below flood stage; 16,900 cubic feet per secondJan 28, 2007: 20.44 ft, major floodingAug 24, 2007: 9.64 ft, below flood stage; 14,700 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2009: 12.03 ft, minor flooding; 27,500 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 2010: 10.06 ft, below flood stage; 16,300 cubic feet per secondSep 11, 2011: 10.28 ft, below flood stage; 17,600 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 2012: 12.53 ft, minor flooding; 31,500 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2013: 10.98 ft, below flood stage; 21,600 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2014: 11.29 ft, below flood stage; 23,400 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 2015: 9.99 ft, below flood stage; 16,500 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 2016: 10.45 ft, below flood stage; 18,900 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 2017: 10.37 ft, below flood stage; 18,400 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 2018: 10.49 ft, below flood stage; 18,900 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2019: 10.59 ft, below flood stage; 19,800 cubic feet per secondJan 8, 2020: 13.01 ft, moderate flooding; 34,955 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 2020: 9.52 ft, below flood stage; 14,600 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 2021: 10.67 ft, below flood stage; 20,196 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2023: 12.00 ft, minor flooding; 27,933 cubic feet per second Highest, 22.62 ft, Jan 18, 1969 197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Kenai River at Soldotna 1960s: 2 1970s: 4 4 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 4 2010s: 1 2020s: 2 1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 64 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Kenai River at Soldotna
1Jan 18, 196922.62+10.62Major—
2Jan 28, 200720.44+8.44Major—
3Sep 24, 199514.50+2.50Major42,200
4Sep 9, 197713.45+1.45Moderate33,700
5Jan 23, 200613.17+1.17Moderate—
6Jan 8, 202013.01+1.01Moderate34,955
7Sep 26, 201212.53+0.53Minor31,500
8Aug 18, 197912.30+0.30Minor26,800
9Oct 25, 200212.28+0.28Minor28,100
10Sep 3, 198912.22+0.22Minor26,800
11Oct 15, 196912.20+0.20Minor30,000
12Aug 23, 197412.15+0.15Minor26,900
13Sep 23, 197412.15+0.15Minor26,900
14Aug 17, 200912.03+0.03Minor27,500
15Sep 13, 202312.000.00Minor27,933
16Sep 19, 196611.60−0.40Action24,000
17Sep 12, 197111.60−0.40Action24,200
18Aug 13, 198111.60−0.40Action22,800
19Aug 23, 199311.52−0.48Action23,600
20Sep 21, 196711.48−0.52Below flood stage24,900
21Sep 26, 197611.45−0.55Below flood stage22,700
22Nov 27, 200211.40−0.60Below flood stage23,000
23Aug 17, 201411.29−0.71Below flood stage23,400
24Sep 22, 198211.19−0.81Below flood stage20,700
25Jul 16, 198011.10−0.90Below flood stage20,300
26Oct 1, 198211.10−0.90Below flood stage20,200
27Sep 13, 201310.98−1.02Below flood stage21,600
28Sep 3, 200110.84−1.16Below flood stage20,000
29Oct 9, 200310.81−1.19Below flood stage20,100
30Aug 20, 199010.70−1.30Below flood stage18,400
31Dec 16, 202110.67−1.33Below flood stage20,196
32Aug 26, 198410.59−1.41Below flood stage17,800
33Jul 10, 201910.59−1.41Below flood stage19,800
34Jul 9, 199810.58−1.42Below flood stage17,800
35Sep 1, 198810.57−1.43Below flood stage17,800
36Oct 20, 199510.52−1.48Below flood stage18,100
37Sep 22, 201810.49−1.51Below flood stage18,900
38Aug 10, 199210.48−1.52Below flood stage17,400
39Aug 9, 201610.45−1.55Below flood stage18,900
40Jul 15, 197510.43−1.57Below flood stage17,200
41Aug 2, 198710.39−1.61Below flood stage16,900
42Sep 26, 201710.37−1.63Below flood stage18,400
43Sep 19, 197810.30−1.70Below flood stage16,300
44Sep 11, 201110.28−1.72Below flood stage17,600
45Sep 18, 199110.21−1.79Below flood stage16,100
46Aug 24, 197210.20−1.80Below flood stage16,200
47Sep 28, 199710.20−1.80Below flood stage16,000
48Jul 22, 200010.17−1.83Below flood stage15,900
49Sep 22, 199910.15−1.85Below flood stage15,800
50Aug 25, 200610.15−1.85Below flood stage16,900

The worst floods along the Kenai River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Kenai River that crested above flood stage within a week.

September 24, 1995: 14.50 ft here, major flooding

September 9, 1977: 13.45 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Kenai River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Kenai River
Cooper LandingAK13.017.18 ft, Sep 21, 19741
Kenai Keys near SterlingAK11.015.52 ft, Sep 24, 19952
Soldotna this gaugeAK12.022.62 ft, Jan 18, 19693
Killey RiverAK13.213.52 ft, Nov 6, 20020
Skilak Lake Outlet near SterlingAK13.015.56 ft, Sep 26, 20120

Other gauges in Kenai Peninsula Borough

Flood gauges in Kenai Peninsula Borough
Anchor Point15.520.83 ft, Dec 30, 20154
Anchor Point8.010.86 ft, Dec 3, 19780
Grouse Lake Outlet near Seward8.09.71 ft, Sep 19, 20120
Cooper Landing13.017.18 ft, Sep 21, 19741
Kenai Keys near Sterling11.015.52 ft, Sep 24, 19952
Killey River13.213.52 ft, Nov 6, 20020
Skilak Lake Outlet near Sterling13.015.56 ft, Sep 26, 20120
Exit Glacier Road near Seward17.519.97 ft, Sep 19, 20120
Seward Hwy Bridge near Seward12.016.05 ft, Sep 20, 19953
Nash Road near Seward10.511.33 ft, Oct 16, 20180
Lawing10.012.50 ft, Sep 21, 19950

Kenai Peninsula Borough: every hazard · River floods across the country · Alaska

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SXRA2, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.