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Smoky Hill River near Arnold

Highest listed crest 19.00 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft51 crests since 1938

The Smoky Hill River near Arnold crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 51 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1938 to 2018. The highest, 19.00 ft on May 30, 1938, was major flooding, 12.00 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Smoky Hill River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
19.00 ft
May 30, 1938; 87,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
Major flooding from 11.0 ft
Crests at major
1
51st of 171 gauges in Kansas
Most recent flood crest
June 19, 2018
7.46 ft, minor flooding
Location
Trego County
Kansas

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Smoky Hill River near Arnold
Action stage6.06Sep 13, 2001The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.014Jun 19, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage9.02Jul 25, 1973Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage11.01May 30, 1938Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

51 crests from 1938 to 2018. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Smoky Hill River near Arnold, 1938 to 2018 05101520ft Flood stage 7.0 ftMajor 11.0 ft May 30, 1938: 19.00 ft, major flooding; 87,000 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1962: 8.96 ft, minor flooding; 5,810 cubic feet per secondSep 16, 1962: 7.94 ft, minor flooding; 4,390 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 1963: 7.44 ft, minor flooding; 3,720 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1964: 7.65 ft, minor flooding; 4,310 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1965: 6.09 ft, action stage; 2,440 cubic feet per secondOct 18, 1965: 7.67 ft, minor flooding; 5,910 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1967: 5.71 ft, below flood stage; 2,040 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1967: 7.69 ft, minor flooding; 5,970 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1968: 6.36 ft, action stage; 2,990 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 1969: 8.38 ft, minor flooding; 8,920 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1970: 4.59 ft, below flood stage; 992 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 1971: 4.97 ft, below flood stage; 1,520 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1972: 9.61 ft, moderate flooding; 12,000 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1973: 9.37 ft, moderate flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1974: 3.81 ft, below flood stage; 475 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1975: 7.95 ft, minor flooding; 5,250 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1976: 4.04 ft, below flood stage; 698 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 1977: 5.79 ft, below flood stage; 2,440 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1978: 4.64 ft, below flood stage; 1,050 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 1979: 2.74 ft, below flood stage; 135 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1980: 3.23 ft, below flood stage; 290 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1981: 5.82 ft, below flood stage; 2,110 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1982: 5.06 ft, below flood stage; 1,340 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1983: 3.89 ft, below flood stage; 559 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1984: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 959 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 1985: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 806 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1986: 4.42 ft, below flood stage; 858 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1987: 6.84 ft, action stage; 3,480 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 1987: 6.13 ft, action stage; 2,840 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1988: 3.37 ft, below flood stage; 178 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1989: 4.93 ft, below flood stage; 1,070 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1990: 4.55 ft, below flood stage; 638 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1991: 3.86 ft, below flood stage; 207 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1992: 5.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,010 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1993: 7.95 ft, minor flooding; 4,890 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1994: 3.89 ft, below flood stage; 3 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1995: 4.87 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1997: 3.30 ft, below flood stage; 201 cubic feet per secondAug 2, 1998: 6.67 ft, action stage; 3,200 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1999: 3.10 ft, below flood stage; 270 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2000: 4.52 ft, below flood stage; 713 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2001: 6.84 ft, action stage; 3,470 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 2002: 2.89 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2003: 2.99 ft, below flood stage; 216 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 2006: 4.31 ft, below flood stage; 591 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2007: 8.41 ft, minor flooding; 6,257 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 2010: 7.06 ft, minor flooding; 3,873 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 2012: 7.44 ft, minor floodingJun 30, 2014: 7.22 ft, minor flooding; 3,110 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2018: 7.46 ft, minor flooding; 3,710 cubic feet per second Highest, 19.00 ft, May 30, 1938 1940196019802000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Smoky Hill River near Arnold 1930s: 1 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 7 7 1970s: 3 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 1 2010s: 4 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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.
  3. 5 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 5.80 ft on Jul 25, 1951; 4.25 ft on Apr 20, 1952; 5.25 ft on Aug 7, 1953; 3.40 ft on Sep 9, 1954; 11.55 ft on Jun 17, 1955.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 51 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Smoky Hill River near Arnold
1May 30, 193819.00+12.00Major87,000
2Jul 11, 19729.61+2.61Moderate12,000
3Jul 25, 19739.37+2.37Moderate11,100
4Jun 9, 19628.96+1.96Minor5,810
5Jun 14, 20078.41+1.41Minor6,257
6Aug 24, 19698.38+1.38Minor8,920
7Jun 8, 19757.95+0.95Minor5,250
8Jul 20, 19937.95+0.95Minor4,890
9Sep 16, 19627.94+0.94Minor4,390
10Jun 29, 19677.69+0.69Minor5,970
11Oct 18, 19657.67+0.67Minor5,910
12Jun 15, 19647.65+0.65Minor4,310
13Jun 19, 20187.46+0.46Minor3,710
14Sep 21, 19637.44+0.44Minor3,720
15Aug 24, 20127.44+0.44Minor—
16Jun 30, 20147.22+0.22Minor3,110
17Apr 23, 20107.06+0.06Minor3,873
18May 4, 19876.84−0.16Action3,480
19Sep 13, 20016.84−0.16Action3,470
20Aug 2, 19986.67−0.33Action3,200
21Aug 28, 19686.36−0.64Action2,990
22Jul 10, 19876.13−0.87Action2,840
23Jun 30, 19656.09−0.91Action2,440
24Apr 30, 19845.89−1.11Below flood stage959
25Jul 3, 19815.82−1.18Below flood stage2,110
26Aug 5, 19775.79−1.21Below flood stage2,440
27May 31, 19675.71−1.29Below flood stage2,040
28Jul 20, 19925.38−1.62Below flood stage1,010
29Jun 15, 19825.06−1.94Below flood stage1,340
30Jul 29, 19714.97−2.03Below flood stage1,520
31Jul 13, 19894.93−2.07Below flood stage1,070
32May 17, 19954.87−2.13Below flood stage1,250
33Jun 6, 19784.64−2.36Below flood stage1,050
34Jul 29, 19854.61−2.39Below flood stage806
35Jun 15, 19704.59−2.41Below flood stage992
36Jul 24, 19904.55−2.45Below flood stage638
37Jun 24, 20004.52−2.48Below flood stage713
38Jun 24, 19864.42−2.58Below flood stage858
39Aug 21, 20064.31−2.69Below flood stage591
40Jul 3, 19764.04−2.96Below flood stage698
41May 18, 19833.89−3.11Below flood stage559
42Jul 19, 19943.89−3.11Below flood stage3
43Aug 4, 19913.86−3.14Below flood stage207
44Jun 9, 19743.81−3.19Below flood stage475
45Aug 4, 19883.37−3.63Below flood stage178
46Jun 2, 19973.30−3.70Below flood stage201
47Aug 17, 19803.23−3.77Below flood stage290
48Aug 30, 19993.10−3.90Below flood stage270
49Jun 19, 20032.99−4.01Below flood stage216
50Jul 28, 20022.89−4.11Below flood stage200

The worst floods along the Smoky Hill River

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

May 30, 1938: 19.00 ft here, major flooding

  • EllsworthKS · Jun 1, 1938 · 27.20 ft · Major
  • OakleyKS · May 30, 1938 · 15.20 ft · Major · its highest
  • LindsborgKS · Jun 3, 1938 · 32.55 ft · Moderate

June 9, 1962: 8.96 ft here, minor flooding

  • OakleyKS · Jun 8, 1962 · 9.58 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Smoky Hill River

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

Flood gauges on the Smoky Hill River
EllsworthKS20.030.07 ft, Jul 22, 19932
EnterpriseKS26.033.95 ft, Jul 22, 19930
LindsborgKS21.033.90 ft, May 28, 19031
RussellKS18.020.43 ft, May 25, 20190
SchoenchenKS11.017.60 ft, Jul 21, 19931
AbileneKS27.032.10 ft, Jul 22, 19930
Arnold this gaugeKS7.019.00 ft, May 30, 19381
Junction CityKS22.035.90 ft, Jul 12, 19510
MentorKS20.024.65 ft, Jun 24, 20190
New CambriaKS27.031.72 ft, Jun 25, 19930
OakleyKS9.015.20 ft, May 30, 19381

Other gauges in Trego County

Flood gauges in Trego County
Wakeeney13.023.91 ft, May 29, 20185

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ARNK1, 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.