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West Nishnabotna River near Randolph

Highest listed crest 24.87 ftFlood stage 19.0 ft81 crests since 1947

The West Nishnabotna River near Randolph crested above flood stage 39 times among the 81 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1947 to 2025. The highest, 24.87 ft on March 14, 2019, was moderate flooding, 5.87 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the West Nishnabotna River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
24.87 ft
March 14, 2019; 26,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
19.0 ft
Major flooding from 27.0 ft
Crests at major
0
39 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 14, 2019
24.87 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Fremont County
Iowa

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, West Nishnabotna River near Randolph
Action stage17.016May 22, 2024The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)19.023Aug 20, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage22.016Mar 14, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage27.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

81 crests from 1947 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the West Nishnabotna River near Randolph, 1947 to 2025 51015202530ft Flood stage 19.0 ftMajor 27.0 ft Jun 24, 1947: 24.00 ft, moderate floodingMar 5, 1949: 24.60 ft, moderate flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1950: 21.93 ft, minor flooding; 29,600 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1951: 21.35 ft, minor flooding; 28,200 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1951: 21.66 ft, minor flooding; 29,100 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1951: 21.77 ft, minor flooding; 29,400 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1952: 20.50 ft, minor flooding; 25,500 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1953: 11.77 ft, below flood stage; 4,980 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 1954: 17.15 ft, action stage; 13,400 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1955: 16.18 ft, below flood stage; 13,900 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1956: 17.80 ft, action stage; 17,900 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1957: 17.58 ft, action stage; 15,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1958: 18.62 ft, action stage; 19,100 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1959: 18.13 ft, action stage; 16,200 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1960: 19.18 ft, minor flooding; 20,600 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1961: 15.56 ft, below flood stage; 11,700 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1962: 21.60 ft, minor flooding; 26,600 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1963: 15.33 ft, below flood stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1964: 18.76 ft, action stage; 17,400 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1965: 22.76 ft, moderate flooding; 28,000 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1966: 19.38 ft, minor flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 20.91 ft, minor flooding; 27,000 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1967: 22.60 ft, moderate flooding; 35,500 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1968: 9.14 ft, below flood stage; 944 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1969: 16.67 ft, below flood stage; 12,900 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1970: 13.31 ft, below flood stage; 5,560 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1971: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 20,000 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1972: 21.71 ft, minor flooding; 18,500 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 1973: 19.79 ft, minor flooding; 19,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1974: 16.95 ft, below flood stage; 7,590 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1975: 17.78 ft, action stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1976: 19.90 ft, minor flooding; 13,700 cubic feet per secondSep 4, 1977: 18.14 ft, action stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1978: 19.46 ft, minor flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1979: 21.20 ft, minor flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1980: 19.60 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1981: 10.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,970 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1982: 23.51 ft, moderate flooding; 27,600 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1983: 17.15 ft, action stage; 8,540 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1984: 22.35 ft, moderate flooding; 20,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1985: 17.57 ft, action stage; 5,600 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1986: 18.23 ft, action stage; 10,400 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1987: 24.50 ft, moderate flooding; 40,800 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1988: 10.59 ft, below flood stage; 2,080 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1989: 22.92 ft, moderate flooding; 21,300 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1990: 23.55 ft, moderate flooding; 31,300 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1991: 21.61 ft, minor flooding; 17,000 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 1992: 12.96 ft, below flood stage; 3,980 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 1993: 23.60 ft, moderate flooding; 22,100 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1994: 18.29 ft, action stage; 8,820 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1995: 14.72 ft, below flood stage; 5,690 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1996: 20.51 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1997: 19.45 ft, minor flooding; 9,930 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1998: 23.92 ft, moderate flooding; 28,700 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1999: 23.36 ft, moderate flooding; 29,300 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2000: 14.99 ft, below flood stage; 5,490 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2001: 16.81 ft, below flood stage; 7,430 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2002: 10.43 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 2003: 15.00 ft, below flood stage; 5,500 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2004: 20.93 ft, minor flooding; 16,600 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2005: 16.12 ft, below flood stage; 5,132,005 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2006: 9.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,140 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2007: 24.16 ft, moderate flooding; 24,800 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2008: 23.84 ft, moderate flooding; 25,200 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 2009: 16.10 ft, below flood stage; 6,580 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2010: 19.40 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2011: 17.46 ft, action stage; 8,180 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2012: 14.49 ft, below flood stage; 4,790 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2013: 14.29 ft, below flood stage; 5,010 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2014: 22.08 ft, moderate flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2015: 20.89 ft, minor floodingJul 18, 2016: 18.71 ft, action stage; 9,720 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2017: 17.04 ft, action stage; 7,690 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 2018: 19.75 ft, minor flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2019: 24.87 ft, moderate flooding; 26,500 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2020: 12.68 ft, below flood stage; 3,460 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2021: 10.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,740 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2022: 11.38 ft, below flood stage; 2,410 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 2023: 15.07 ft, below flood stage; 5,320 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2024: 17.19 ft, action stage; 8,300 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 2025: 12.92 ft, below flood stage; 3,410 cubic feet per second Highest, 24.87 ft, Mar 14, 2019 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, West Nishnabotna River near Randolph 1940s: 2 1950s: 5 1960s: 6 1970s: 6 1980s: 5 1990s: 7 7 2000s: 3 2010s: 5 2020s: 0 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 81 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, West Nishnabotna River near Randolph
1Mar 14, 201924.87+5.87Moderate26,500
2Mar 5, 194924.60+5.60Moderate16,000
3May 26, 198724.50+5.50Moderate40,800
4May 7, 200724.16+5.16Moderate24,800
5Jun 24, 194724.00+5.00Moderate—
6Jun 15, 199823.92+4.92Moderate28,700
7Jun 12, 200823.84+4.84Moderate25,200
8Jul 23, 199323.60+4.60Moderate22,100
9Jul 26, 199023.55+4.55Moderate31,300
10Jun 15, 198223.51+4.51Moderate27,600
11Aug 8, 199923.36+4.36Moderate29,300
12Sep 9, 198922.92+3.92Moderate21,300
13Mar 1, 196522.76+3.76Moderate28,000
14Jun 21, 196722.60+3.60Moderate35,500
15Jun 15, 198422.35+3.35Moderate20,900
16Jun 4, 201422.08+3.08Moderate21,900
17May 9, 195021.93+2.93Minor29,600
18Jul 3, 195121.77+2.77Minor29,400
19Sep 14, 197221.71+2.71Minor18,500
20Jun 2, 195121.66+2.66Minor29,100
21Jun 14, 199121.61+2.61Minor17,000
22May 29, 196221.60+2.60Minor26,600
23May 1, 195121.35+2.35Minor28,200
24Mar 18, 197921.20+2.20Minor17,100
25May 25, 200420.93+1.93Minor16,600
26Jun 10, 196720.91+1.91Minor27,000
27Dec 15, 201520.89+1.89Minor—
28Jun 22, 199620.51+1.51Minor12,200
29Jun 22, 195220.50+1.50Minor25,500
30Jun 14, 197619.90+0.90Minor13,700
31Sep 26, 197319.79+0.79Minor19,000
32Aug 20, 201819.75+0.75Minor14,000
33Jun 4, 198019.60+0.60Minor13,000
34Sep 14, 197819.46+0.46Minor12,700
35Feb 19, 199719.45+0.45Minor9,930
36Jun 14, 201019.40+0.40Minor11,000
37Jun 26, 196619.38+0.38Minor21,200
38Mar 30, 196019.18+0.18Minor20,600
39Feb 19, 197119.000.00Minor20,000
40May 26, 196418.76−0.24Action17,400
41Jul 18, 201618.71−0.29Action9,720
42Feb 24, 195818.62−0.38Action19,100
43Jun 23, 199418.29−0.71Action8,820
44Jul 12, 198618.23−0.77Action10,400
45Sep 4, 197718.14−0.86Action10,200
46May 29, 195918.13−0.87Action16,200
47Jul 8, 195617.80−1.20Action17,900
48Apr 28, 197517.78−1.22Action12,000
49Jun 16, 195717.58−1.42Action15,600
50Feb 21, 198517.57−1.43Action5,600

The worst floods along the West Nishnabotna River

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

March 14, 2019: 24.87 ft here, moderate flooding

  • HancockIA · Mar 14, 2019 · 22.36 ft · Moderate

May 7, 2007: 24.16 ft here, moderate flooding

  • HancockIA · May 6, 2007 · 20.53 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the West Nishnabotna River

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

Flood gauges on the West Nishnabotna River
HancockIA14.023.52 ft, Jul 10, 19931
Randolph this gaugeIA19.024.87 ft, Mar 14, 20190

Other gauges in Fremont County

Flood gauges in Fremont County
Hamburg25.033.18 ft, Jun 17, 19981

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RDPI4, 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.