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Payette River at Emmett

Highest listed crest 16.10 ftFlood stage 10.5 ft39 crests since 1927

The Payette River at Emmett crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 39 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1927 to 2025. The highest, 16.10 ft on December 23, 1964, was major flooding, 5.60 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Payette River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
16.10 ft
December 23, 1964; 32,700 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.5 ft
Major flooding from 15.0 ft
Crests at major
2
12th of 78 gauges in Idaho
Most recent flood crest
April 9, 2019
12.59 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Gem County
Idaho

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Payette River at Emmett
Action stage10.02May 22, 2023The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.514Mar 20, 2017Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.011Apr 9, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage15.02Jan 1, 1997Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

39 crests from 1927 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Payette River at Emmett, 1927 to 2025 05101520ft Flood stage 10.5 ftMajor 15.0 ft May 17, 1927: 12.50 ft, moderate flooding; 21,400 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1928: 12.70 ft, moderate flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1932: 11.20 ft, minor flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1933: 12.30 ft, moderate flooding; 20,700 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1936: 12.50 ft, moderate flooding; 21,600 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1938: 13.00 ft, moderate flooding; 22,800 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1940: 11.80 ft, minor flooding; 19,200 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1943: 12.70 ft, moderate flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1946: 11.60 ft, minor flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1947: 11.30 ft, minor flooding; 17,900 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1948: 10.90 ft, minor flooding; 16,700 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1952: 11.50 ft, minor flooding; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1953: 11.30 ft, minor flooding; 17,800 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 1955: 12.90 ft, moderate flooding; 22,700 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1957: 11.40 ft, minor flooding; 18,200 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1964: 16.10 ft, major flooding; 32,700 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1971: 12.50 ft, moderate flooding; 21,300 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1974: 11.50 ft, minor flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1978: 11.10 ft, minor flooding; 17,200 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1983: 11.90 ft, minor flooding; 19,700 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1997: 15.90 ft, major flooding; 32,200 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1998: 11.28 ft, minor flooding; 17,900 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 2006: 10.80 ft, minor flooding; 16,700 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2010: 13.45 ft, moderate flooding; 24,400 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2011: 10.13 ft, action stage; 15,000 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2012: 12.40 ft, moderate flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondDec 6, 2012: 6.28 ft, below flood stage; 6,480 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2014: 8.81 ft, below flood stage; 11,700 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2015: 9.57 ft, below flood stage; 13,500 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2016: 7.60 ft, below flood stage; 8,990 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2017: 11.28 ft, minor flooding; 18,100 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2018: 8.44 ft, below flood stage; 10,800 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 2019: 12.59 ft, moderate flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2020: 8.09 ft, below flood stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2021: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 5,760 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2022: 9.51 ft, below flood stage; 13,400 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2023: 10.15 ft, action stage; 15,000 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2024: 8.64 ft, below flood stage; 11,300 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2025: 8.71 ft, below flood stage; 11,400 cubic feet per second Highest, 16.10 ft, Dec 23, 1964 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Payette River at Emmett 1920s: 2 1930s: 4 1940s: 5 5 1950s: 4 1960s: 1 1970s: 3 1980s: 1 1990s: 2 2000s: 1 2010s: 4 2020s: 0 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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, Payette River at Emmett
1Dec 23, 196416.10+5.60Major32,700
2Jan 1, 199715.90+5.40Major32,200
3Jun 5, 201013.45+2.95Moderate24,400
4May 1, 193813.00+2.50Moderate22,800
5Dec 22, 195512.90+2.40Moderate22,700
6May 27, 192812.70+2.20Moderate22,000
7Jun 1, 194312.70+2.20Moderate21,900
8Apr 9, 201912.59+2.09Moderate21,900
9May 17, 192712.50+2.00Moderate21,400
10Apr 24, 193612.50+2.00Moderate21,600
11Jun 26, 197112.50+2.00Moderate21,300
12Apr 27, 201212.40+1.90Moderate21,200
13Jun 10, 193312.30+1.80Moderate20,700
14May 31, 198311.90+1.40Minor19,700
15Mar 31, 194011.80+1.30Minor19,200
16Apr 18, 194611.60+1.10Minor18,600
17Apr 28, 195211.50+1.00Minor18,400
18Jun 20, 197411.50+1.00Minor18,600
19May 19, 195711.40+0.90Minor18,200
20May 9, 194711.30+0.80Minor17,900
21Jun 13, 195311.30+0.80Minor17,800
22May 27, 199811.28+0.78Minor17,900
23Mar 20, 201711.28+0.78Minor18,100
24May 22, 193211.20+0.70Minor17,600
25Jun 7, 197811.10+0.60Minor17,200
26Jun 3, 194810.90+0.40Minor16,700
27Apr 30, 200610.80+0.30Minor16,700
28May 22, 202310.15−0.35Action15,000
29May 15, 201110.13−0.37Action15,000
30Mar 15, 20159.57−0.93Below flood stage13,500
31Jun 13, 20229.51−0.99Below flood stage13,400
32May 28, 20148.81−1.69Below flood stage11,700
33May 12, 20258.71−1.79Below flood stage11,400
34Jun 4, 20248.64−1.86Below flood stage11,300
35May 27, 20188.44−2.06Below flood stage10,800
36Jun 7, 20208.09−2.41Below flood stage10,200
37May 9, 20167.60−2.90Below flood stage8,990
38Dec 6, 20126.28−4.22Below flood stage6,480
39Jun 2, 20215.85−4.65Below flood stage5,760

The worst floods along the Payette River

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

December 23, 1964: 16.10 ft here, major flooding

  • PayetteID · Dec 24, 1964 · 13.80 ft · Moderate

January 1, 1997: 15.90 ft here, major flooding

  • PayetteID · Jan 2, 1997 · 14.50 ft · Major · its highest

June 5, 2010: 13.45 ft here, moderate flooding

  • PayetteID · Jun 6, 2010 · 13.69 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Payette River

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

Flood gauges on the Payette River
Emmett this gaugeID10.516.10 ft, Dec 23, 19642
PayetteID12.014.50 ft, Jan 2, 19971

Gem County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Idaho

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge EMMI1, 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.