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Clearwater River at Spalding

Highest listed crest 27.77 ftFlood stage 18.0 ft74 crests since 1894

The Clearwater River at Spalding crested at major flood stage 11 times among the 74 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1894 to 2023. The highest, 27.77 ft on February 5, 1963, was major flooding, 9.77 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
27.77 ft
February 5, 1963
Flood stage
18.0 ft
Major flooding from 19.4 ft
Crests at major
11
2nd of 78 gauges in Idaho
Most recent flood crest
June 16, 1974
19.10 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Nez Perce County
Near Lewiston (8.8 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Clearwater River at Spalding
Action stage17.010Jun 13, 2022The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)18.03Dec 23, 1964Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage19.02Jun 16, 1974Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage19.411Jun 8, 1964Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

74 crests from 1894 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Clearwater River at Spalding, 1894 to 2023 -100102030ft Flood stage 18.0 ftMajor 19.4 ft Jun 1, 1894: 20.80 ft, major flooding; 136,000 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1927: 17.70 ft, action stage; 109,000 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 1928: 25.60 ft, major floodingMay 26, 1928: 17.50 ft, action stage; 107,000 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1932: 18.98 ft, minor flooding; 121,000 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1933: 20.48 ft, major flooding; 136,000 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1933: 23.19 ft, major flooding; 172,000 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1936: 17.79 ft, action stage; 107,000 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1938: 20.00 ft, major flooding; 134,000 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 1947: 19.22 ft, moderate floodingMay 8, 1947: 18.55 ft, minor flooding; 114,000 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1948: 23.76 ft, major flooding; 177,000 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1949: 19.81 ft, major flooding; 123,000 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1950: 17.90 ft, action stage; 100,700 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1954: 17.67 ft, action stage; 104,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1955: 17.44 ft, action stage; 101,000 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1956: 19.60 ft, major flooding; 121,000 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1957: 21.42 ft, major flooding; 143,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1958: 17.02 ft, action stage; 91,200 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1961: 16.99 ft, below flood stage; 91,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1963: 27.77 ft, major floodingJun 8, 1964: 20.70 ft, major flooding; 141,000 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1964: 18.95 ft, minor flooding; 122,000 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1971: 17.53 ft, action stage; 106,000 cubic feet per secondSep 27, 1971: -0.09 ft, below flood stageJun 2, 1972: 16.69 ft, below flood stage; 94,200 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1973: 10.30 ft, below flood stage; 36,900 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1974: 19.10 ft, moderate flooding; 131,000 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1975: 14.71 ft, below flood stage; 79,300 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1976: 14.97 ft, below flood stage; 78,700 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1977: 9.62 ft, below flood stage; 31,700 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1978: 12.98 ft, below flood stage; 58,800 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1980: 12.26 ft, below flood stage; 52,300 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1981: 13.74 ft, below flood stage; 66,400 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1982: 13.73 ft, below flood stage; 66,300 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1983: 13.11 ft, below flood stage; 61,000 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1985: 13.18 ft, below flood stage; 60,800 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1986: 14.07 ft, below flood stage; 70,600 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1987: 12.12 ft, below flood stage; 52,000 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1988: 11.42 ft, below flood stage; 46,300 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1989: 12.28 ft, below flood stage; 52,900 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1990: 14.21 ft, below flood stage; 70,500 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1991: 13.86 ft, below flood stage; 67,200 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1992: 11.03 ft, below flood stage; 42,200 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1993: 14.31 ft, below flood stage; 71,500 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1994: 10.98 ft, below flood stage; 41,800 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1995: 12.56 ft, below flood stage; 55,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1996: 16.34 ft, below flood stage; 92,800 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1997: 15.63 ft, below flood stage; 85,100 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1998: 12.73 ft, below flood stage; 56,800 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1999: 13.43 ft, below flood stage; 63,100 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2001: 11.19 ft, below flood stage; 44,700 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2002: 14.01 ft, below flood stage; 69,400 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2003: 13.90 ft, below flood stage; 68,300 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2004: 14.21 ft, below flood stage; 71,300 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2005: 12.10 ft, below flood stage; 52,200 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2006: 13.76 ft, below flood stage; 67,000 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2007: 11.35 ft, below flood stage; 46,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2008: 15.06 ft, below flood stage; 79,800 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2009: 13.76 ft, below flood stage; 67,000 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2010: 14.09 ft, below flood stage; 70,100 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2011: 15.56 ft, below flood stage; 84,900 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2012: 15.28 ft, below flood stage; 81,300 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2013: 13.64 ft, below flood stage; 65,900 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2014: 13.24 ft, below flood stage; 63,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 2015: 10.96 ft, below flood stage; 42,900 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2016: 12.84 ft, below flood stage; 58,600 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2017: 17.17 ft, action stage; 102,000 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 2018: 13.63 ft, below flood stage; 65,700 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 2019: 13.89 ft, below flood stage; 68,200 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2020: 13.17 ft, below flood stage; 60,500 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 2021: 11.33 ft, below flood stage; 44,900 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2022: 17.06 ft, action stage; 99,400 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 2023: 13.37 ft, below flood stage; 62,400 cubic feet per second Highest, 27.77 ft, Feb 5, 1963 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Clearwater River at Spalding 1890s: 1 1900s: 0 1910s: 0 1920s: 1 1930s: 4 4 1940s: 4 1950s: 2 1960s: 3 1970s: 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 74 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Clearwater River at Spalding
1Feb 5, 196327.77+9.77Major—
2Jan 5, 192825.60+7.60Major—
3May 29, 194823.76+5.76Major177,000
4Dec 23, 193323.19+5.19Major172,000
5May 20, 195721.42+3.42Major143,000
6Jun 1, 189420.80+2.80Major136,000
7Jun 8, 196420.70+2.70Major141,000
8Jun 10, 193320.48+2.48Major136,000
9Apr 19, 193820.00+2.00Major134,000
10May 16, 194919.81+1.81Major123,000
11May 24, 195619.60+1.60Major121,000
12Jan 24, 194719.22+1.22Moderate—
13Jun 16, 197419.10+1.10Moderate131,000
14May 14, 193218.98+0.98Minor121,000
15Dec 23, 196418.95+0.95Minor122,000
16May 8, 194718.55+0.55Minor114,000
17Jun 17, 195017.90−0.10Action100,700
18May 15, 193617.79−0.21Action107,000
19Jun 9, 192717.70−0.30Action109,000
20May 20, 195417.67−0.33Action104,000
21May 13, 197117.53−0.47Action106,000
22May 26, 192817.50−0.50Action107,000
23Jun 12, 195517.44−0.56Action101,000
24Mar 16, 201717.17−0.83Action102,000
25Jun 13, 202217.06−0.94Action99,400
26May 22, 195817.02−0.98Action91,200
27May 27, 196116.99−1.01Below flood stage91,900
28Jun 2, 197216.69−1.31Below flood stage94,200
29Feb 9, 199616.34−1.66Below flood stage92,800
30May 17, 199715.63−2.37Below flood stage85,100
31Jun 8, 201115.56−2.44Below flood stage84,900
32Apr 27, 201215.28−2.72Below flood stage81,300
33May 19, 200815.06−2.94Below flood stage79,800
34May 11, 197614.97−3.03Below flood stage78,700
35Jun 3, 197514.71−3.29Below flood stage79,300
36May 16, 199314.31−3.69Below flood stage71,500
37May 29, 199014.21−3.79Below flood stage70,500
38May 29, 200414.21−3.79Below flood stage71,300
39Jun 5, 201014.09−3.91Below flood stage70,100
40May 30, 198614.07−3.93Below flood stage70,600
41Apr 15, 200214.01−3.99Below flood stage69,400
42May 30, 200313.90−4.10Below flood stage68,300
43May 18, 201913.89−4.11Below flood stage68,200
44May 19, 199113.86−4.14Below flood stage67,200
45May 20, 200613.76−4.24Below flood stage67,000
46May 31, 200913.76−4.24Below flood stage67,000
47Jun 19, 198113.74−4.26Below flood stage66,400
48Jun 17, 198213.73−4.27Below flood stage66,300
49May 14, 201313.64−4.36Below flood stage65,900
50May 10, 201813.63−4.37Below flood stage65,700

The worst floods along the Clearwater River

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

May 29, 1948: 23.76 ft here, major flooding

  • OrofinoID · May 29, 1948 · 21.10 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the Clearwater River

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

Flood gauges on the Clearwater River
OrofinoID17.021.10 ft, May 29, 19482
Spalding this gaugeID18.027.77 ft, Feb 5, 196311

Nez Perce County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Idaho

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SPDI1, 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.