Highest listed crest 22.75 ft July 11, 1929; 28,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage 18.0 ft Major flooding from 24.7 ft
Crests at major 0 41 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest June 23, 2019 18.61 ft, minor flooding Listed crests at the Cow Creek (KS) at Lyons, 1929 to 2026 5 10 15 20 25 ft Flood stage 18.0 ft Major 24.7 ft Jul 11, 1929: 22.75 ft, moderate flooding; 28,000 cubic feet per second Jun 1, 1938: 16.30 ft, action stage; 1,240 cubic feet per second Jul 4, 1940: 18.30 ft, minor flooding; 3,000 cubic feet per second Sep 3, 1941: 19.27 ft, minor flooding; 6,500 cubic feet per second Oct 20, 1941: 20.49 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 1944: 17.60 ft, action stage; 1,880 cubic feet per second Apr 16, 1945: 17.62 ft, action stage; 1,880 cubic feet per second Jun 5, 1947: 16.16 ft, action stage; 1,220 cubic feet per second Jul 16, 1948: 18.80 ft, minor flooding; 5,720 cubic feet per second Aug 1, 1950: 19.95 ft, minor flooding Aug 16, 1950: 19.20 ft, minor flooding Jul 13, 1951: 19.05 ft, minor flooding; 6,300 cubic feet per second Oct 2, 1959: 17.10 ft, action stage; 1,530 cubic feet per second May 5, 1961: 15.93 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per second Jul 20, 1962: 15.64 ft, below flood stage; 1,590 cubic feet per second Jun 16, 1964: 13.68 ft, below flood stage; 1,300 cubic feet per second Jun 2, 1965: 18.45 ft, minor flooding; 8,700 cubic feet per second Jun 13, 1965: 18.08 ft, minor flooding; 5,980 cubic feet per second Feb 10, 1966: 15.79 ft, below flood stage; 1,540 cubic feet per second Jul 15, 1967: 16.19 ft, action stage; 1,680 cubic feet per second Oct 18, 1968: 17.82 ft, action stage; 4,500 cubic feet per second Jun 13, 1971: 17.09 ft, action stage; 1,800 cubic feet per second Sep 2, 1972: 17.96 ft, action stage; 3,360 cubic feet per second Apr 1, 1973: 18.75 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per second Sep 26, 1973: 20.38 ft, minor flooding; 24,100 cubic feet per second Oct 12, 1973: 19.04 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per second Nov 23, 1973: 18.10 ft, minor flooding Dec 7, 1973: 19.00 ft, minor flooding Apr 22, 1974: 19.60 ft, minor flooding May 19, 1974: 18.16 ft, minor flooding; 6,460 cubic feet per second May 27, 1974: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 7,420 cubic feet per second Jun 28, 1975: 18.01 ft, minor flooding; 5,560 cubic feet per second Aug 30, 1975: 18.08 ft, minor flooding; 5,980 cubic feet per second Apr 23, 1976: 16.80 ft, action stage; 1,600 cubic feet per second Sep 13, 1977: 17.58 ft, action stage; 3,360 cubic feet per second Mar 12, 1978: 13.99 ft, below flood stage; 799 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 1979: 14.18 ft, below flood stage; 828 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 1980: 17.04 ft, action stage; 1,980 cubic feet per second Jun 24, 1981: 16.80 ft, action stage; 2,100 cubic feet per second Jul 2, 1982: 16.70 ft, action stage; 1,460 cubic feet per second Jun 4, 1983: 10.57 ft, below flood stage; 424 cubic feet per second May 1, 1984: 16.34 ft, action stage; 1,320 cubic feet per second May 2, 1985: 16.09 ft, action stage; 1,350 cubic feet per second Jul 6, 1986: 18.27 ft, minor flooding; 1,750 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 1987: 18.25 ft, minor flooding; 1,760 cubic feet per second Jul 10, 1988: 6.26 ft, below flood stage; 127 cubic feet per second Jul 3, 1989: 12.57 ft, below flood stage; 843 cubic feet per second Aug 17, 1990: 14.59 ft, below flood stage; 1,130 cubic feet per second Jun 11, 1991: 10.72 ft, below flood stage; 599 cubic feet per second Jun 12, 1992: 16.24 ft, action stage; 1,400 cubic feet per second Jun 19, 1993: 18.61 ft, minor flooding; 4,120 cubic feet per second Jul 14, 1993: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 3,550 cubic feet per second Jul 21, 1993: 18.91 ft, minor flooding; 4,780 cubic feet per second Jul 17, 1994: 9.45 ft, below flood stage; 448 cubic feet per second Jun 2, 1996: 18.75 ft, minor flooding; 5,180 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 2000: 18.08 ft, minor flooding; 5,180 cubic feet per second Sep 18, 2001: 18.16 ft, minor flooding; 3,290 cubic feet per second Aug 13, 2002: 18.27 ft, minor flooding; 3,520 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 2003: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 3,620 cubic feet per second Jun 16, 2005: 16.79 ft, action stage; 1,320 cubic feet per second May 7, 2007: 20.35 ft, minor flooding; 23,800 cubic feet per second May 25, 2007: 19.29 ft, minor flooding; 8,205 cubic feet per second Oct 17, 2008: 17.51 ft, action stage; 2,210 cubic feet per second Jun 16, 2010: 16.95 ft, action stage; 1,790 cubic feet per second Aug 12, 2011: 11.05 ft, below flood stage; 448 cubic feet per second Apr 16, 2012: 15.59 ft, below flood stage; 1,090 cubic feet per second Jul 30, 2013: 18.19 ft, minor flooding; 3,374 cubic feet per second Aug 6, 2013: 19.09 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per second Jun 11, 2014: 17.83 ft, action stage Sep 2, 2014: 18.07 ft, minor flooding; 3,150 cubic feet per second May 24, 2015: 16.92 ft, action stage; 1,940 cubic feet per second Jul 4, 2016: 17.98 ft, action stage; 3,266 cubic feet per second Sep 7, 2018: 18.18 ft, minor flooding; 3,930 cubic feet per second Oct 10, 2018: 19.82 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per second May 9, 2019: 19.45 ft, minor flooding; 12,220 cubic feet per second May 21, 2019: 18.57 ft, minor flooding; 7,873 cubic feet per second May 29, 2019: 18.21 ft, minor flooding; 6,156 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 2019: 18.61 ft, minor flooding; 8,064 cubic feet per second May 27, 2020: 15.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,430 cubic feet per second Jul 15, 2020: 17.15 ft, action stage; 1,880 cubic feet per second May 17, 2021: 15.78 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per second May 29, 2021: 16.56 ft, action stage; 1,640 cubic feet per second May 28, 2022: 14.45 ft, below flood stage; 1,040 cubic feet per second Aug 11, 2023: 13.28 ft, below flood stage; 772 cubic feet per second Aug 15, 2024: 14.92 ft, below flood stage; 1,160 cubic feet per second Jun 18, 2025: 14.88 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per second Jul 25, 2025: 17.73 ft, action stage; 2,810 cubic feet per second Sep 9, 2025: 17.77 ft, action stage; 2,890 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 2026: 15.41 ft, below flood stage; 1,293 cubic feet per second Highest, 22.75 ft, Jul 11, 1929 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Crests at or above flood stage, by decade Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cow Creek (KS) at Lyons 1920s: 1 1930s: 0 1940s: 4 1950s: 3 1960s: 2 1970s: 10 10 1980s: 2 1990s: 4 2000s: 6 2010s: 9 2020s: 0 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 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. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable. Rice County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Kansas
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LYNK1, 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.