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Kobuk River near Kiana

Highest listed crest 69.17 ftFlood stage 60.1 ft44 crests since 1977

The Kobuk River near Kiana crested above flood stage 18 times among the 44 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1977 to 2025. The highest, 69.17 ft on May 24, 2023, was minor flooding, 9.07 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
69.17 ft
May 24, 2023
Flood stage
60.1 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
18 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
May 24, 2023
69.17 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, Kobuk River near Kiana
Flood stage (minor)60.118May 24, 2023Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat

Every listed crest

44 crests from 1977 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Kobuk River near Kiana, 1977 to 2025 455055606570ft Flood stage 60.1 ft Jun 11, 1977: 51.70 ft, below flood stage; 69,300 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1978: 49.12 ft, below flood stage; 48,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1979: 55.75 ft, below flood stage; 109,000 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1980: 54.86 ft, below flood stage; 99,600 cubic feet per secondAug 2, 1981: 52.58 ft, below flood stage; 77,200 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1982: 59.46 ft, below flood stage; 152,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1983: 53.78 ft, below flood stageJun 3, 1983: 53.10 ft, below flood stage; 82,000 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 1984: 52.97 ft, below flood stage; 80,700 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1985: 60.12 ft, minor flooding; 146,000 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 1986: 59.57 ft, below flood stage; 141,000 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1987: 51.60 ft, below flood stageMay 12, 1988: 56.60 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 1989: 64.26 ft, minor floodingMay 22, 1990: 61.36 ft, minor flooding; 130,000 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1991: 61.81 ft, minor floodingJun 4, 1992: 62.94 ft, minor flooding; 161,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1993: 60.30 ft, minor flooding; 139,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1994: 60.26 ft, minor flooding; 138,000 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1995: 60.81 ft, minor floodingMay 20, 1996: 60.76 ft, minor flooding; 142,000 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1997: 55.93 ft, below flood stageAug 21, 1998: 55.58 ft, below flood stage; 103,000 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1999: 63.05 ft, minor flooding; 70,000 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2000: 60.24 ft, minor flooding; 133,000 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2001: 61.40 ft, minor floodingMay 22, 2002: 60.39 ft, minor flooding; 146,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2003: 53.75 ft, below flood stage; 86,700 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2009: 57.63 ft, below flood stage; 121,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2010: 57.57 ft, below flood stage; 121,000 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2011: 63.66 ft, minor floodingMay 27, 2011: 62.11 ft, minor flooding; 162,000 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2012: 60.69 ft, minor flooding; 149,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2017: 59.14 ft, below flood stage; 116,000 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2018: 56.43 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2018: 55.28 ft, below flood stage; 100,000 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2019: 57.15 ft, below flood stage; 117,000 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2020: 54.16 ft, below flood stage; 89,900 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 2021: 57.77 ft, below flood stage; 123,000 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2022: 60.18 ft, minor floodingMay 24, 2023: 69.17 ft, minor floodingSep 7, 2023: 55.26 ft, below flood stage; 99,300 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 2024: 57.25 ft, below flood stage; 118,000 cubic feet per secondSep 4, 2025: 58.40 ft, below flood stage; 128,000 cubic feet per second Highest, 69.17 ft, May 24, 2023 19801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Kobuk River near Kiana 1970s: 0 1980s: 2 1990s: 8 8 2000s: 3 2010s: 3 2020s: 2 1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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

Highest listed crests, Kobuk River near Kiana
1May 24, 202369.17+9.07Minor—
2Jun 1, 198964.26+4.16Minor—
3May 23, 201163.66+3.56Minor—
4May 24, 199963.05+2.95Minor70,000
5Jun 4, 199262.94+2.84Minor161,000
6May 27, 201162.11+2.01Minor162,000
7May 17, 199161.81+1.71Minor—
8Jun 5, 200161.40+1.30Minor—
9May 22, 199061.36+1.26Minor130,000
10May 12, 199560.81+0.71Minor—
11May 20, 199660.76+0.66Minor142,000
12May 26, 201260.69+0.59Minor149,000
13May 22, 200260.39+0.29Minor146,000
14May 22, 199360.30+0.20Minor139,000
15May 22, 199460.26+0.16Minor138,000
16Jun 5, 200060.24+0.14Minor133,000
17May 24, 202260.18+0.08Minor—
18Jun 5, 198560.12+0.02Minor146,000
19Sep 7, 198659.57−0.53Below flood stage141,000
20Jun 7, 198259.46−0.64Below flood stage152,000
21May 19, 201759.14−0.96Below flood stage116,000
22Sep 4, 202558.40−1.70Below flood stage128,000
23Aug 3, 202157.77−2.33Below flood stage123,000
24May 26, 200957.63−2.47Below flood stage121,000
25May 19, 201057.57−2.53Below flood stage121,000
26Aug 24, 202457.25−2.85Below flood stage118,000
27May 30, 201957.15−2.95Below flood stage117,000
28May 12, 198856.60−3.50Below flood stage—
29May 17, 201856.43−3.67Below flood stage—
30May 12, 199755.93−4.17Below flood stage—
31Jun 12, 197955.75−4.35Below flood stage109,000
32Aug 21, 199855.58−4.52Below flood stage103,000
33Jun 8, 201855.28−4.82Below flood stage100,000
34Sep 7, 202355.26−4.84Below flood stage99,300
35Jun 7, 198054.86−5.24Below flood stage99,600
36May 26, 202054.16−5.94Below flood stage89,900
37May 22, 198353.78−6.32Below flood stage—
38Jun 12, 200353.75−6.35Below flood stage86,700
39Jun 3, 198353.10−7.00Below flood stage82,000
40Aug 5, 198452.97−7.13Below flood stage80,700
41Aug 2, 198152.58−7.52Below flood stage77,200
42Jun 11, 197751.70−8.40Below flood stage69,300
43May 30, 198751.60−8.50Below flood stage—
44May 18, 197849.12−10.98Below flood stage48,000

Gauges on the Kobuk River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Kobuk River
AmblerAK42.546.73 ft, May 25, 19730
Kiana this gaugeAK60.169.17 ft, May 24, 20230

Other gauges in Northwest Arctic Borough

Flood gauges in Northwest Arctic Borough
Ambler42.546.73 ft, May 25, 19730
Tutak Creek near Kivalina11.214.79 ft, Aug 16, 20120

Northwest Arctic Borough: every hazard · River floods across the country · Alaska

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge KIAA2, 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.