Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Neosho River at Iola

Highest listed crest 33.26 ftFlood stage 15.0 ft81 crests since 1926

The Neosho River at Iola crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 81 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1926 to 2026. The highest, 33.26 ft on July 13, 1951, was major flooding, 18.26 feet above flood stage. 6 other gauges on the Neosho River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 5 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
33.26 ft
July 13, 1951
Flood stage
15.0 ft
Major flooding from 27.0 ft
Crests at major
1
51st of 171 gauges in Kansas
Most recent flood crest
June 4, 2025
18.69 ft, minor flooding
Location
Allen County
Kansas

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Neosho River at Iola
Action stage13.06Jun 26, 2026The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)15.059Jun 4, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage21.010May 26, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage27.01Jul 13, 1951Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

81 crests from 1926 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Neosho River at Iola, 1926 to 2026 010203040ft Flood stage 15.0 ftMajor 27.0 ft Sep 13, 1926: 23.50 ft, moderate floodingApr 19, 1927: 20.40 ft, minor floodingNov 30, 1928: 21.00 ft, moderate floodingMay 24, 1938: 20.50 ft, minor floodingJun 12, 1941: 17.40 ft, minor floodingSep 6, 1941: 20.50 ft, minor floodingOct 26, 1941: 20.00 ft, minor floodingMay 19, 1943: 20.70 ft, minor floodingApr 25, 1944: 22.65 ft, moderate floodingDec 8, 1944: 21.10 ft, moderate floodingApr 18, 1945: 22.40 ft, moderate floodingApr 5, 1947: 19.05 ft, minor floodingApr 11, 1947: 16.10 ft, minor floodingFeb 13, 1949: 17.10 ft, minor floodingAug 30, 1950: 16.35 ft, minor floodingMay 6, 1951: 18.30 ft, minor floodingJun 12, 1951: 16.92 ft, minor floodingJul 4, 1951: 21.20 ft, moderate floodingJul 13, 1951: 33.26 ft, major floodingAug 28, 1951: 15.20 ft, minor floodingSep 13, 1951: 18.00 ft, minor floodingMay 27, 1961: 19.50 ft, minor floodingSep 15, 1961: 21.15 ft, moderate floodingSep 23, 1962: 16.80 ft, minor floodingJun 8, 1965: 15.30 ft, minor floodingAug 23, 1985: 19.00 ft, minor floodingOct 3, 1986: 22.10 ft, moderate floodingApr 2, 1988: 19.30 ft, minor floodingAug 24, 1989: 17.50 ft, minor floodingMay 26, 1990: 17.70 ft, minor floodingJun 10, 1990: 16.30 ft, minor floodingJun 22, 1990: 16.50 ft, minor floodingMay 9, 1993: 18.60 ft, minor floodingSep 25, 1993: 18.40 ft, minor floodingApr 11, 1994: 17.00 ft, minor floodingApr 28, 1994: 19.80 ft, minor floodingJun 10, 1995: 19.90 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 2004: 19.40 ft, minor flooding; 28,831 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2005: 15.19 ft, minor floodingJun 14, 2005: 18.56 ft, minor flooding; 33,330 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 2005: 15.89 ft, minor flooding; 25,385 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2007: 17.55 ft, minor flooding; 30,059 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2007: 26.90 ft, moderate flooding; 171,637 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2008: 16.01 ft, minor flooding; 25,131 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2009: 18.99 ft, minor flooding; 34,767 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 2009: 17.43 ft, minor flooding; 29,675 cubic feet per secondSep 10, 2009: 19.54 ft, minor flooding; 35,500 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2010: 15.01 ft, minor flooding; 18,071 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 2010: 15.14 ft, minor flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per secondSep 16, 2010: 13.08 ft, action stage; 15,106 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2011: 10.63 ft, below flood stage; 10,900 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2012: 11.35 ft, below flood stage; 12,900 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 2013: 14.57 ft, action stage; 21,600 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 2014: 15.86 ft, minor flooding; 25,100 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 2015: 14.57 ft, action stage; 22,300 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2015: 17.71 ft, minor flooding; 22,700 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2015: 15.32 ft, minor flooding; 24,200 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2016: 17.74 ft, minor flooding; 23,600 cubic feet per secondSep 11, 2016: 17.57 ft, minor flooding; 23,300 cubic feet per secondOct 7, 2016: 18.09 ft, minor flooding; 24,100 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 2017: 16.79 ft, minor flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per secondSep 8, 2018: 17.12 ft, minor flooding; 22,297 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 2018: 19.90 ft, minor flooding; 33,957 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2019: 18.95 ft, minor flooding; 31,057 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2019: 17.80 ft, minor flooding; 24,101 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2019: 15.04 ft, minor flooding; 18,284 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2019: 20.56 ft, minor flooding; 45,743 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2019: 21.38 ft, moderate flooding; 54,815 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 2019: 15.16 ft, minor flooding; 18,459 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2020: 11.94 ft, below flood stage; 13,500 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2021: 17.05 ft, minor flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2021: 15.48 ft, minor flooding; 18,900 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 2021: 12.97 ft, below flood stage; 15,200 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 2022: 16.37 ft, minor flooding; 20,400 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2023: 8.71 ft, below flood stage; 3,460 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2024: 19.91 ft, minor flooding; 39,300 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 2024: 15.63 ft, minor flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2025: 18.69 ft, minor flooding; 29,000 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2025: 13.04 ft, action stage; 15,300 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 2026: 14.59 ft, action stage; 17,627 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2026: 14.38 ft, action stage; 17,317 cubic feet per second Highest, 33.26 ft, Jul 13, 1951 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Neosho River at Iola 1920s: 3 1930s: 1 1940s: 10 1950s: 7 1960s: 4 1970s: 0 1980s: 4 1990s: 8 2000s: 10 2010s: 17 17 2020s: 6 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

The 50 highest of 81 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Neosho River at Iola
1Jul 13, 195133.26+18.26Major—
2Jul 1, 200726.90+11.90Moderate171,637
3Sep 13, 192623.50+8.50Moderate—
4Apr 25, 194422.65+7.65Moderate—
5Apr 18, 194522.40+7.40Moderate—
6Oct 3, 198622.10+7.10Moderate—
7May 26, 201921.38+6.38Moderate54,815
8Jul 4, 195121.20+6.20Moderate—
9Sep 15, 196121.15+6.15Moderate—
10Dec 8, 194421.10+6.10Moderate—
11Nov 30, 192821.00+6.00Moderate—
12May 19, 194320.70+5.70Minor—
13May 22, 201920.56+5.56Minor45,743
14May 24, 193820.50+5.50Minor—
15Sep 6, 194120.50+5.50Minor—
16Apr 19, 192720.40+5.40Minor—
17Oct 26, 194120.00+5.00Minor—
18Apr 28, 202419.91+4.91Minor39,300
19Jun 10, 199519.90+4.90Minor—
20Oct 10, 201819.90+4.90Minor33,957
21Apr 28, 199419.80+4.80Minor—
22Sep 10, 200919.54+4.54Minor35,500
23May 27, 196119.50+4.50Minor—
24Mar 5, 200419.40+4.40Minor28,831
25Apr 2, 198819.30+4.30Minor—
26Apr 5, 194719.05+4.05Minor—
27Aug 23, 198519.00+4.00Minor—
28Apr 28, 200918.99+3.99Minor34,767
29May 1, 201918.95+3.95Minor31,057
30Jun 4, 202518.69+3.69Minor29,000
31May 9, 199318.60+3.60Minor—
32Jun 14, 200518.56+3.56Minor33,330
33Sep 25, 199318.40+3.40Minor—
34May 6, 195118.30+3.30Minor—
35Oct 7, 201618.09+3.09Minor24,100
36Sep 13, 195118.00+3.00Minor—
37May 8, 201917.80+2.80Minor24,101
38Apr 28, 201617.74+2.74Minor23,600
39May 25, 201517.71+2.71Minor22,700
40May 26, 199017.70+2.70Minor—
41Sep 11, 201617.57+2.57Minor23,300
42May 8, 200717.55+2.55Minor30,059
43Aug 24, 198917.50+2.50Minor—
44Jun 17, 200917.43+2.43Minor29,675
45Jun 12, 194117.40+2.40Minor—
46Sep 8, 201817.12+2.12Minor22,297
47Feb 13, 194917.10+2.10Minor—
48Mar 18, 202117.05+2.05Minor21,800
49Apr 11, 199417.00+2.00Minor—
50Jun 12, 195116.92+1.92Minor—

The worst floods along the Neosho River

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

July 13, 1951: 33.26 ft here, major flooding

  • ParsonsKS · Jul 14, 1951 · 40.20 ft · Major · its highest
  • CommerceOK · Jul 16, 1951 · 34.03 ft · Major · its highest
  • OswegoKS · Jul 15, 1951 · 32.50 ft · Major
  • BurlingtonKS · Jul 12, 1951 · 41.53 ft · Moderate · its highest
  • Le RoyKS · Jul 12, 1951 · 34.48 ft · Moderate · its highest
  • Neosho RapidsKS · Jul 11, 1951 · 34.30 ft · Moderate · its highest

July 1, 2007: 26.90 ft here, moderate flooding

  • ErieKS · Jul 2, 2007 · 40.60 ft · Major · its highest
  • ChanuteKS · Jul 1, 2007 · 36.82 ft · Major · its highest
  • ParsonsKS · Jul 2, 2007 · 35.05 ft · Major
  • OswegoKS · Jul 2, 2007 · 30.00 ft · Major
  • CommerceOK · Jul 5, 2007 · 29.25 ft · Major
  • Le RoyKS · Jul 1, 2007 · 28.70 ft · Moderate
  • Neosho RapidsKS · Jul 1, 2007 · 24.18 ft · Moderate

September 13, 1926: 23.50 ft here, moderate flooding

  • OswegoKS · Sep 19, 1926 · 25.10 ft · Major
  • Le RoyKS · Sep 12, 1926 · 29.60 ft · Moderate
  • ParsonsKS · Sep 17, 1926 · 27.07 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Neosho River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Neosho River
BurlingtonKS27.041.53 ft, Jul 12, 19510
EmporiaKS19.026.00 ft, Oct 11, 19850
Iola this gaugeKS15.033.26 ft, Jul 13, 19511
John Redmond LakeKS1,068.01,081.90 ft, May 14, 20091
Le RoyKS23.034.48 ft, Jul 12, 19510
Neosho RapidsKS22.034.30 ft, Jul 11, 19510
OswegoKS17.034.10 ft, Jul 20, 194822
AmericusKS26.028.30 ft, Jun 27, 19690
ChanuteKS23.036.82 ft, Jul 1, 20072
CommerceOK15.034.03 ft, Jul 16, 19519
ErieKS29.040.60 ft, Jul 2, 20075
OswegoKS28.034.70 ft, May 29, 20191
ParsonsKS21.040.20 ft, Jul 14, 19512

Allen County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Kansas

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge IOLK1, 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.