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Driftwood Creek near McCook

Highest listed crest 25.43 ftFlood stage 17.0 ft80 crests since 1946

The Driftwood Creek near McCook crested at major flood stage 6 times among the 80 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1946 to 2025. The highest, 25.43 ft on August 7, 1950, was major flooding, 8.43 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
25.43 ft
August 7, 1950; 4,740 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
17.0 ft
Major flooding from 21.0 ft
Crests at major
6
4th of 187 gauges in Nebraska
Most recent flood crest
May 26, 2023
22.04 ft, major flooding
Location
Red Willow County
Nebraska

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Driftwood Creek near McCook
Action stage15.09Jul 29, 2018The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)17.04Apr 24, 2007Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage19.01Sep 9, 1946Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage21.06May 26, 2023Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

80 crests from 1946 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Driftwood Creek near McCook, 1946 to 2025 0102030ft Flood stage 17.0 ftMajor 21.0 ft Sep 9, 1946: 20.57 ft, moderate flooding; 3,400 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1947: 18.85 ft, minor flooding; 2,270 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1948: 15.77 ft, action stage; 1,520 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1949: 11.40 ft, below flood stage; 780 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1950: 25.43 ft, major flooding; 4,740 cubic feet per secondSep 8, 1951: 24.76 ft, major flooding; 4,470 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1952: 15.11 ft, action stage; 1,370 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1953: 7.11 ft, below flood stage; 124 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1954: 10.95 ft, below flood stage; 593 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1955: 9.23 ft, below flood stage; 284 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1956: 23.10 ft, major flooding; 3,810 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1957: 22.16 ft, major flooding; 3,620 cubic feet per secondOct 23, 1958: 12.04 ft, below flood stage; 560 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1959: 7.54 ft, below flood stage; 220 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1960: 21.08 ft, major flooding; 2,830 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1961: 6.43 ft, below flood stage; 147 cubic feet per secondAug 1, 1962: 13.43 ft, below flood stage; 940 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 1963: 8.82 ft, below flood stage; 324 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1964: 16.24 ft, action stage; 902 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1965: 15.96 ft, action stage; 780 cubic feet per secondOct 19, 1966: 13.89 ft, below flood stage; 356 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1967: 13.83 ft, below flood stage; 423 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1968: 18.74 ft, minor flooding; 1,960 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1969: 14.21 ft, below flood stage; 488 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1970: 16.87 ft, action stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1971: 13.78 ft, below flood stage; 461 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1972: 18.20 ft, minor flooding; 1,660 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 1973: 13.49 ft, below flood stage; 374 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1974: 16.35 ft, action stage; 1,020 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1975: 11.92 ft, below flood stage; 193 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1976: 14.37 ft, below flood stage; 518 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 1977: 15.42 ft, action stage; 607 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1978: 12.05 ft, below flood stage; 205 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1979: 12.83 ft, below flood stage; 283 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1980: 13.98 ft, below flood stage; 408 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1981: 12.59 ft, below flood stage; 140 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1982: 10.15 ft, below flood stage; 800 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1983: 7.89 ft, below flood stage; 460 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1984: 7.67 ft, below flood stage; 334 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 1985: 11.29 ft, below flood stage; 843 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1986: 4.26 ft, below flood stage; 74 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1987: 5.17 ft, below flood stage; 126 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1988: 8.58 ft, below flood stage; 436 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1989: 16.96 ft, action stage; 1,370 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1990: 4.99 ft, below flood stage; 112 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1991: 5.82 ft, below flood stage; 160 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1992: 11.54 ft, below flood stage; 326 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1993: 6.77 ft, below flood stage; 112 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1994: 6.72 ft, below flood stage; 110 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1995: 4.53 ft, below flood stage; 43 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1996: 10.81 ft, below flood stage; 288 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1997: 4.10 ft, below flood stage; 35 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 1998: 4.71 ft, below flood stage; 44 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1999: 11.30 ft, below flood stage; 422 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2000: 3.35 ft, below flood stage; 9 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 2001: 5.81 ft, below flood stage; 70 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 2002: 10.62 ft, below flood stage; 421 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2003: 6.17 ft, below flood stage; 38 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2004: 7.45 ft, below flood stage; 155 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2005: 12.05 ft, below flood stage; 384 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2006: 3.67 ft, below flood stage; 4 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2007: 18.48 ft, minor flooding; 1,760 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2008: 13.51 ft, below flood stage; 803 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2009: 7.72 ft, below flood stage; 118 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 2010: 8.15 ft, below flood stage; 173 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2011: 4.87 ft, below flood stage; 49 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 2012: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 40 cubic feet per secondSep 12, 2013: 4.53 ft, below flood stage; 36 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2014: 6.53 ft, below flood stage; 84 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 2015: 9.99 ft, below flood stage; 306 cubic feet per secondSep 4, 2016: 12.09 ft, below flood stage; 409 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 2017: 5.42 ft, below flood stage; 63 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 2018: 15.07 ft, action stage; 1,050 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2019: 5.77 ft, below flood stage; 82 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 2020: 3.32 ft, below flood stage; 15 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2021: 7.66 ft, below flood stage; 142 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2022: 6.72 ft, below flood stage; 96 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2023: 22.04 ft, major flooding; 3,090 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2024: 6.63 ft, below flood stage; 82 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 2025: 13.32 ft, below flood stage; 593 cubic feet per second Highest, 25.43 ft, Aug 7, 1950 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Driftwood Creek near McCook 1940s: 2 1950s: 4 4 1960s: 2 1970s: 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 1 2010s: 0 2020s: 1 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 80 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Driftwood Creek near McCook
1Aug 7, 195025.43+8.43Major4,740
2Sep 8, 195124.76+7.76Major4,470
3Jun 17, 195623.10+6.10Major3,810
4May 30, 195722.16+5.16Major3,620
5May 26, 202322.04+5.04Major3,090
6Mar 21, 196021.08+4.08Major2,830
7Sep 9, 194620.57+3.57Moderate3,400
8Jun 25, 194718.85+1.85Minor2,270
9Aug 28, 196818.74+1.74Minor1,960
10Apr 24, 200718.48+1.48Minor1,760
11Jun 18, 197218.20+1.20Minor1,660
12Jun 30, 198916.96−0.04Action1,370
13Jun 12, 197016.87−0.13Action1,170
14Jun 8, 197416.35−0.65Action1,020
15Aug 20, 196416.24−0.76Action902
16Jul 5, 196515.96−1.04Action780
17Jun 21, 194815.77−1.23Action1,520
18Sep 2, 197715.42−1.58Action607
19Jul 5, 195215.11−1.89Action1,370
20Jul 29, 201815.07−1.93Action1,050
21May 21, 197614.37−2.63Below flood stage518
22May 8, 196914.21−2.79Below flood stage488
23Jul 2, 198013.98−3.02Below flood stage408
24Oct 19, 196613.89−3.11Below flood stage356
25Jul 9, 196713.83−3.17Below flood stage423
26Jul 5, 197113.78−3.22Below flood stage461
27May 24, 200813.51−3.49Below flood stage803
28Jul 21, 197313.49−3.51Below flood stage374
29Aug 1, 196213.43−3.57Below flood stage940
30Sep 17, 202513.32−3.68Below flood stage593
31Jul 18, 197912.83−4.17Below flood stage283
32Jul 26, 198112.59−4.41Below flood stage140
33Sep 4, 201612.09−4.91Below flood stage409
34Jul 24, 197812.05−4.95Below flood stage205
35Aug 17, 200512.05−4.95Below flood stage384
36Oct 23, 195812.04−4.96Below flood stage560
37Jun 25, 197511.92−5.08Below flood stage193
38Aug 17, 199211.54−5.46Below flood stage326
39Jun 18, 194911.40−5.60Below flood stage780
40May 23, 199911.30−5.70Below flood stage422
41Jun 27, 198511.29−5.71Below flood stage843
42Aug 18, 195410.95−6.05Below flood stage593
43Jun 17, 199610.81−6.19Below flood stage288
44Aug 28, 200210.62−6.38Below flood stage421
45Jul 11, 198210.15−6.85Below flood stage800
46Aug 4, 20159.99−7.01Below flood stage306
47Jun 18, 19559.23−7.77Below flood stage284
48Feb 2, 19638.82−8.18Below flood stage324
49Jul 19, 19888.58−8.42Below flood stage436
50Aug 5, 20108.15−8.85Below flood stage173

Other gauges in Red Willow County

Flood gauges in Red Willow County
4W Indianola, Nebraska15.018.36 ft, Jun 22, 19470
McCook9.010.51 ft, May 26, 20230

Red Willow County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Nebraska

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MCKN1, 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.