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Black Warrior River below Selden Dam

Highest listed crest 109.90 ftFlood stage 90.0 ft82 crests since 1961

The Black Warrior River below Selden Dam crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 82 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1961 to 2025. The highest, 109.90 ft on February 25, 1961, was major flooding, 19.90 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Black Warrior River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
109.90 ft
February 25, 1961
Flood stage
90.0 ft
Major flooding from 105.0 ft
Crests at major
2
27th of 89 gauges in Alabama
Most recent flood crest
May 14, 2025
92.05 ft, minor flooding
Location
Hale County
Alabama

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Black Warrior River below Selden Dam
Action stage90.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)90.077May 14, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage102.03Apr 7, 2000Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage105.02Apr 16, 1979Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

82 crests from 1961 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Black Warrior River below Selden Dam, 1961 to 2025 9095100105110ft Flood stage 90.0 ftMajor 105.0 ft Feb 25, 1961: 109.90 ft, major floodingDec 22, 1961: 102.40 ft, moderate floodingMar 24, 1970: 101.70 ft, minor floodingApr 3, 1976: 99.80 ft, minor floodingApr 9, 1977: 101.70 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 1979: 106.80 ft, major floodingMar 24, 1980: 101.90 ft, minor floodingMay 24, 1983: 99.90 ft, minor floodingDec 8, 1983: 100.40 ft, minor floodingFeb 20, 1990: 104.40 ft, moderate floodingMay 2, 1991: 93.50 ft, minor floodingJan 15, 1993: 94.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 14, 1994: 95.70 ft, minor floodingApr 1, 1994: 97.55 ft, minor floodingMar 11, 1995: 94.40 ft, minor floodingOct 7, 1995: 90.74 ft, minor floodingJan 31, 1996: 98.40 ft, minor floodingMar 10, 1996: 98.97 ft, minor floodingJan 27, 1997: 90.54 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 1997: 92.60 ft, minor floodingMay 6, 1997: 91.53 ft, minor floodingJan 11, 1998: 101.38 ft, minor floodingJan 24, 1998: 90.30 ft, minor floodingMar 1, 1998: 92.10 ft, minor floodingMar 11, 1998: 93.68 ft, minor floodingApr 21, 1998: 93.84 ft, minor floodingJan 25, 1999: 92.67 ft, minor floodingFeb 3, 1999: 99.26 ft, minor floodingMar 22, 2000: 96.80 ft, minor floodingApr 7, 2000: 103.50 ft, moderate floodingMar 5, 2001: 90.05 ft, minor floodingMar 17, 2001: 94.37 ft, minor floodingMar 23, 2001: 94.77 ft, minor floodingApr 7, 2001: 97.66 ft, minor floodingSep 6, 2001: 92.89 ft, minor floodingDec 17, 2001: 96.67 ft, minor floodingJan 28, 2002: 96.76 ft, minor floodingDec 26, 2002: 92.71 ft, minor floodingFeb 25, 2003: 96.55 ft, minor floodingMar 1, 2003: 92.46 ft, minor floodingMar 9, 2003: 95.60 ft, minor floodingMay 11, 2003: 96.67 ft, minor floodingMay 21, 2003: 97.25 ft, minor floodingFeb 9, 2004: 100.61 ft, minor floodingApr 9, 2005: 93.87 ft, minor floodingJan 11, 2009: 101.55 ft, minor floodingJan 27, 2010: 95.68 ft, minor floodingMar 14, 2010: 98.27 ft, minor floodingSep 8, 2011: 95.68 ft, minor floodingJan 29, 2012: 93.06 ft, minor floodingFeb 14, 2013: 91.96 ft, minor floodingMar 26, 2013: 93.41 ft, minor floodingMay 7, 2013: 90.30 ft, minor floodingApr 10, 2014: 99.86 ft, minor floodingDec 30, 2014: 91.02 ft, minor floodingJan 6, 2015: 97.13 ft, minor floodingDec 31, 2015: 101.08 ft, minor floodingApr 6, 2017: 93.26 ft, minor floodingJun 26, 2017: 97.60 ft, minor floodingFeb 9, 2018: 91.74 ft, minor floodingFeb 13, 2018: 92.19 ft, minor floodingJan 1, 2019: 100.48 ft, minor floodingJan 26, 2019: 93.90 ft, minor floodingFeb 26, 2019: 101.06 ft, minor floodingDec 25, 2019: 94.46 ft, minor floodingJan 4, 2020: 97.54 ft, minor floodingJan 16, 2020: 90.46 ft, minor floodingMar 8, 2020: 99.26 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 2020: 97.69 ft, minor floodingApr 22, 2020: 97.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 20, 2021: 91.51 ft, minor floodingFeb 6, 2022: 90.92 ft, minor flooding; 38,743 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2022: 90.56 ft, minor flooding; 38,045 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2022: 93.20 ft, minor flooding; 43,416 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2022: 90.38 ft, minor flooding; 37,700 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2022: 90.48 ft, minor flooding; 37,891 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 2022: 91.81 ft, minor flooding; 40,512 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2023: 92.14 ft, minor flooding; 41,184 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2024: 94.49 ft, minor flooding; 46,346 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 2025: 90.43 ft, minor flooding; 37,795 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2025: 96.42 ft, minor flooding; 51,034 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2025: 92.05 ft, minor flooding; 41,000 cubic feet per second Highest, 109.90 ft, Feb 25, 1961 197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Black Warrior River below Selden Dam 1960s: 2 1970s: 4 1980s: 3 1990s: 19 19 2000s: 18 2010s: 19 2020s: 17 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 82 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Black Warrior River below Selden Dam
1Feb 25, 1961109.90+19.90Major—
2Apr 16, 1979106.80+16.80Major—
3Feb 20, 1990104.40+14.40Moderate—
4Apr 7, 2000103.50+13.50Moderate—
5Dec 22, 1961102.40+12.40Moderate—
6Mar 24, 1980101.90+11.90Minor—
7Mar 24, 1970101.70+11.70Minor—
8Apr 9, 1977101.70+11.70Minor—
9Jan 11, 2009101.55+11.55Minor—
10Jan 11, 1998101.38+11.38Minor—
11Dec 31, 2015101.08+11.08Minor—
12Feb 26, 2019101.06+11.06Minor—
13Feb 9, 2004100.61+10.61Minor—
14Jan 1, 2019100.48+10.48Minor—
15Dec 8, 1983100.40+10.40Minor—
16May 24, 198399.90+9.90Minor—
17Apr 10, 201499.86+9.86Minor—
18Apr 3, 197699.80+9.80Minor—
19Feb 3, 199999.26+9.26Minor—
20Mar 8, 202099.26+9.26Minor—
21Mar 10, 199698.97+8.97Minor—
22Jan 31, 199698.40+8.40Minor—
23Mar 14, 201098.27+8.27Minor—
24Apr 22, 202097.80+7.80Minor—
25Apr 16, 202097.69+7.69Minor—
26Apr 7, 200197.66+7.66Minor—
27Jun 26, 201797.60+7.60Minor—
28Apr 1, 199497.55+7.55Minor—
29Jan 4, 202097.54+7.54Minor—
30May 21, 200397.25+7.25Minor—
31Jan 6, 201597.13+7.13Minor—
32Mar 22, 200096.80+6.80Minor—
33Jan 28, 200296.76+6.76Minor—
34Dec 17, 200196.67+6.67Minor—
35May 11, 200396.67+6.67Minor—
36Feb 25, 200396.55+6.55Minor—
37Apr 10, 202596.42+6.42Minor51,034
38Feb 14, 199495.70+5.70Minor—
39Jan 27, 201095.68+5.68Minor—
40Sep 8, 201195.68+5.68Minor—
41Mar 9, 200395.60+5.60Minor—
42Jan 15, 199394.80+4.80Minor—
43Mar 23, 200194.77+4.77Minor—
44Feb 14, 202494.49+4.49Minor46,346
45Dec 25, 201994.46+4.46Minor—
46Mar 11, 199594.40+4.40Minor—
47Mar 17, 200194.37+4.37Minor—
48Jan 26, 201993.90+3.90Minor—
49Apr 9, 200593.87+3.87Minor—
50Apr 21, 199893.84+3.84Minor—

The worst floods along the Black Warrior River

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

February 25, 1961: 109.90 ft here, major flooding

April 16, 1979: 106.80 ft here, major flooding

February 20, 1990: 104.40 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Black Warrior River

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

Flood gauges on the Black Warrior River
CordovaAL22.041.50 ft, Mar 14, 19092
Bankhead Lock and DamAL189.0194.90 ft, Apr 5, 19770
Holt Lock and DamAL140.0156.87 ft, Dec 3, 19830
Oliver Lock and DamAL129.0149.00 ft, Feb 22, 19614
Selden Dam this gaugeAL90.0109.90 ft, Feb 25, 19612

Hale County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Alabama

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WLDA1, 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.