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East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak

Highest listed crest 29.39 ftFlood stage 18.0 ft59 crests since 1970

The East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 59 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1970 to 2025. The highest, 29.39 ft on June 15, 1998, was major flooding, 11.39 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the East Nishnabotna River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
29.39 ft
June 15, 1998; 60,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
18.0 ft
Major flooding from 27.0 ft
Crests at major
2
70th of 203 gauges in Iowa
Most recent flood crest
March 14, 2019
24.61 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Montgomery County
Iowa

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak
Action stage16.08May 22, 2024The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)18.022May 27, 2016Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage22.04Mar 14, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage27.02Jun 15, 1998Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

59 crests from 1970 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak, 1970 to 2025 51015202530ft Flood stage 18.0 ftMajor 27.0 ft Mar 2, 1970: 18.59 ft, minor flooding; 11,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1971: 20.76 ft, minor flooding; 17,000 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 1972: 27.43 ft, major flooding; 38,000 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1973: 19.20 ft, minor flooding; 14,500 cubic feet per secondOct 11, 1973: 15.28 ft, below flood stage; 8,460 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1975: 15.84 ft, below flood stage; 8,610 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1976: 18.78 ft, minor flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1977: 14.35 ft, below flood stage; 6,820 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1978: 16.34 ft, action stage; 9,280 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1979: 21.20 ft, minor flooding; 16,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1980: 19.60 ft, minor flooding; 14,200 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1981: 8.48 ft, below flood stage; 1,710 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1982: 19.94 ft, minor floodingFeb 20, 1983: 13.71 ft, below flood stage; 6,060 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1984: 20.11 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1984: 18.28 ft, minor flooding; 12,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1985: 14.55 ft, below flood stage; 7,890 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1986: 17.36 ft, action stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1987: 17.08 ft, action stage; 9,820 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1988: 13.90 ft, below flood stageJun 9, 1988: 7.84 ft, below flood stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1989: 21.74 ft, minor flooding; 22,100 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1990: 19.25 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1991: 22.25 ft, moderate flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per secondSep 16, 1992: 18.47 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondAug 31, 1993: 21.98 ft, minor flooding; 21,600 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1994: 15.63 ft, below flood stage; 9,160 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1995: 13.23 ft, below flood stage; 5,870 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1996: 18.45 ft, minor flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1997: 15.77 ft, below flood stage; 9,370 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1998: 29.39 ft, major flooding; 60,500 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1999: 19.06 ft, minor flooding; 15,100 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2000: 9.60 ft, below flood stage; 2,210 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2001: 15.92 ft, below flood stage; 10,600 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 2002: 10.16 ft, below flood stage; 3,240 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 2003: 12.50 ft, below flood stage; 4,880 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2004: 19.99 ft, minor flooding; 16,600 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2005: 18.18 ft, minor flooding; 12,900 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 2006: 14.19 ft, below flood stage; 6,510 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2007: 26.24 ft, moderate flooding; 34,600 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2008: 24.09 ft, moderate flooding; 27,000 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 2008: 18.55 ft, minor floodingApr 27, 2009: 17.67 ft, action stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2010: 21.25 ft, minor flooding; 19,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2011: 14.18 ft, below flood stage; 6,850 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2012: 16.21 ft, action stage; 10,900 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2013: 17.24 ft, action stage; 11,300 cubic feet per secondSep 10, 2014: 21.05 ft, minor flooding; 18,200 cubic feet per secondDec 14, 2015: 21.81 ft, minor floodingMay 27, 2016: 18.52 ft, minor flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2017: 15.61 ft, below flood stage; 8,520 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2018: 16.09 ft, action stage; 9,260 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2019: 24.61 ft, moderate flooding; 24,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2020: 9.09 ft, below flood stage; 1,750 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2021: 9.54 ft, below flood stage; 1,930 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 2022: 13.92 ft, below flood stage; 6,250 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 2023: 14.43 ft, below flood stage; 6,610 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2024: 17.16 ft, action stage; 10,900 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2025: 11.61 ft, below flood stage; 3,570 cubic feet per second Highest, 29.39 ft, Jun 15, 1998 197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak 1970s: 6 1980s: 5 1990s: 7 7 2000s: 5 2010s: 5 2020s: 0 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.
  3. 43 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 26.30 ft on Jun 7, 1917; 18.20 ft on May 29, 1918; 17.70 ft on Jun 13, 1919; 17.20 ft on Apr 21, 1920; 17.00 ft on Sep 21, 1921; 18.20 ft on Sep 2, 1922; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 59 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak
1Jun 15, 199829.39+11.39Major60,500
2Sep 13, 197227.43+9.43Major38,000
3May 7, 200726.24+8.24Moderate34,600
4Mar 14, 201924.61+6.61Moderate24,100
5Jun 13, 200824.09+6.09Moderate27,000
6Jun 15, 199122.25+4.25Moderate22,000
7Aug 31, 199321.98+3.98Minor21,600
8Dec 14, 201521.81+3.81Minor—
9Sep 9, 198921.74+3.74Minor22,100
10Jun 27, 201021.25+3.25Minor19,500
11Mar 19, 197921.20+3.20Minor16,900
12Sep 10, 201421.05+3.05Minor18,200
13Feb 19, 197120.76+2.76Minor17,000
14Apr 30, 198420.11+2.11Minor15,000
15May 23, 200419.99+1.99Minor16,600
16Feb 20, 198219.94+1.94Minor—
17Jun 15, 198019.60+1.60Minor14,200
18Jun 17, 199019.25+1.25Minor13,000
19May 8, 197319.20+1.20Minor14,500
20May 17, 199919.06+1.06Minor15,100
21Jun 14, 197618.78+0.78Minor12,800
22Mar 2, 197018.59+0.59Minor11,700
23Dec 27, 200818.55+0.55Minor—
24May 27, 201618.52+0.52Minor13,600
25Sep 16, 199218.47+0.47Minor11,800
26Jun 21, 199618.45+0.45Minor14,000
27Jun 15, 198418.28+0.28Minor12,100
28May 13, 200518.18+0.18Minor12,900
29Apr 27, 200917.67−0.33Action12,000
30May 10, 198617.36−0.64Action10,200
31Jun 24, 201317.24−0.76Action11,300
32May 22, 202417.16−0.84Action10,900
33May 26, 198717.08−0.92Action9,820
34Mar 21, 197816.34−1.66Action9,280
35Apr 15, 201216.21−1.79Action10,900
36Jul 1, 201816.09−1.91Action9,260
37Mar 15, 200115.92−2.08Below flood stage10,600
38Apr 28, 197515.84−2.16Below flood stage8,610
39Feb 19, 199715.77−2.23Below flood stage9,370
40Jun 23, 199415.63−2.37Below flood stage9,160
41May 20, 201715.61−2.39Below flood stage8,520
42Oct 11, 197315.28−2.72Below flood stage8,460
43Feb 21, 198514.55−3.45Below flood stage7,890
44Feb 27, 202314.43−3.57Below flood stage6,610
45Aug 28, 197714.35−3.65Below flood stage6,820
46Sep 17, 200614.19−3.81Below flood stage6,510
47Feb 17, 201114.18−3.82Below flood stage6,850
48Jun 16, 202213.92−4.08Below flood stage6,250
49Jan 30, 198813.90−4.10Below flood stage—
50Feb 20, 198313.71−4.29Below flood stage6,060

The worst floods along the East Nishnabotna River

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

June 15, 1998: 29.39 ft here, major flooding

  • AtlanticIA · Jun 15, 1998 · 22.36 ft · Minor

September 13, 1972: 27.43 ft here, major flooding

  • AtlanticIA · Sep 12, 1972 · 22.81 ft · Minor

May 7, 2007: 26.24 ft here, moderate flooding

  • AtlanticIA · May 6, 2007 · 20.05 ft · Minor

Gauges on the East Nishnabotna River

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

Flood gauges on the East Nishnabotna River
AtlanticIA19.027.49 ft, Jul 2, 19582
Red Oak this gaugeIA18.029.39 ft, Jun 15, 19982

Other gauges in Montgomery County

Flood gauges in Montgomery County
Stanton11.513.74 ft, Jun 9, 19670
Elliot11.014.68 ft, Jun 14, 19980

Montgomery County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Iowa

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RDOI4, 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.