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Frenchman Creek at Palisade

Highest listed crest 12.26 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft76 crests since 1951

The Frenchman Creek at Palisade crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 76 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1951 to 2023. The highest, 12.26 ft on May 26, 2023, was major flooding, 5.26 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Frenchman Creek crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
12.26 ft
May 26, 2023; 5,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
Major flooding from 9.0 ft
Crests at major
1
38th of 187 gauges in Nebraska
Most recent flood crest
May 26, 2023
12.26 ft, major flooding
Location
Hayes County
Nebraska

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Frenchman Creek at Palisade
Action stage5.524Aug 9, 2015The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.020May 27, 2021Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage8.07Jul 30, 2017Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage9.01May 26, 2023Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

76 crests from 1951 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Frenchman Creek at Palisade, 1951 to 2023 2468101214ft Flood stage 7.0 ftMajor 9.0 ft Jun 17, 1951: 7.44 ft, minor flooding; 1,630 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1952: 4.97 ft, below flood stage; 335 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 1953: 4.80 ft, below flood stage; 306 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1954: 6.07 ft, action stage; 780 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1955: 6.96 ft, action stage; 964 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 1957: 6.68 ft, action stage; 1,040 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1958: 7.73 ft, minor flooding; 1,440 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1959: 6.18 ft, action stage; 565 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1960: 6.90 ft, action stage; 865 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1961: 5.77 ft, action stage; 455 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1962: 8.18 ft, moderate flooding; 1,740 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1963: 7.06 ft, minor flooding; 916 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1964: 6.28 ft, action stage; 844 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1965: 6.88 ft, action stage; 1,000 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1966: 5.39 ft, below flood stage; 562 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1967: 7.63 ft, minor flooding; 1,330 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1968: 5.58 ft, action stage; 596 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 1969: 5.65 ft, action stage; 600 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1970: 4.76 ft, below flood stage; 406 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1971: 4.67 ft, below flood stage; 384 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1972: 7.94 ft, minor flooding; 1,670 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1973: 5.98 ft, action stage; 778 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1974: 5.57 ft, action stage; 602 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1975: 7.34 ft, minor flooding; 1,190 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1976: 5.21 ft, below flood stage; 522 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 1977: 6.72 ft, action stage; 534 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1978: 6.07 ft, action stage; 395 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1979: 7.08 ft, minor flooding; 610 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 1980: 5.53 ft, action stage; 325 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1981: 5.87 ft, action stage; 379 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1982: 6.94 ft, action stage; 578 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1983: 5.05 ft, below flood stage; 223 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1984: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 689 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1985: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 221 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1986: 6.71 ft, action stage; 527 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1987: 4.99 ft, below flood stage; 240 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1988: 8.66 ft, moderate flooding; 1,240 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1989: 6.88 ft, action stage; 540 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1990: 7.00 ft, minor flooding; 566 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 1991: 5.08 ft, below flood stageJul 5, 1991: 5.03 ft, below flood stage; 222 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1992: 7.74 ft, minor flooding; 645 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1993: 8.12 ft, moderate flooding; 722 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1994: 7.36 ft, minor flooding; 580 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1995: 6.49 ft, action stage; 426 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1996: 8.49 ft, moderate flooding; 1,070 cubic feet per secondAug 1, 1997: 6.45 ft, action stage; 415 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 1998: 7.10 ft, minor flooding; 533 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 1999: 7.80 ft, minor flooding; 637 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 2000: 5.02 ft, below flood stage; 209 cubic feet per secondOct 29, 2000: 7.17 ft, minor flooding; 548 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2002: 4.41 ft, below flood stageJul 22, 2002: 4.39 ft, below flood stage; 106 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 2003: 4.47 ft, below flood stage; 124 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2004: 7.42 ft, minor flooding; 590 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 2005: 4.92 ft, below flood stageJul 11, 2006: 3.37 ft, below flood stage; 39 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2007: 8.62 ft, moderate flooding; 600 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2008: 7.67 ft, minor flooding; 442 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2009: 7.76 ft, minor flooding; 453 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2010: 5.86 ft, action stage; 212 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2011: 8.81 ft, moderate flooding; 508 cubic feet per secondDec 12, 2011: 3.76 ft, below flood stageJan 3, 2012: 3.01 ft, below flood stage; 35 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 2013: 5.03 ft, below flood stage; 139 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2014: 5.95 ft, action stage; 194 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 2015: 6.68 ft, action stage; 258 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 2016: 3.93 ft, below flood stageMay 26, 2016: 3.43 ft, below flood stage; 52 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2017: 8.71 ft, moderate flooding; 473 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 2018: 7.89 ft, minor flooding; 378 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 2019: 7.04 ft, minor flooding; 291 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 2020: 3.29 ft, below flood stage; 54 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2021: 7.84 ft, minor flooding; 377 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2022: 3.18 ft, below flood stage; 42 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2023: 12.26 ft, major flooding; 5,100 cubic feet per second Highest, 12.26 ft, May 26, 2023 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Frenchman Creek at Palisade 1950s: 2 1960s: 3 1970s: 3 1980s: 2 1990s: 7 7 2000s: 5 2010s: 4 2020s: 2 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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. 1 crest measured on an earlier gauge datum is left out: 8.79 ft on Jun 17, 1956.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 76 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Frenchman Creek at Palisade
1May 26, 202312.26+5.26Major5,100
2Jun 22, 20118.81+1.81Moderate508
3Jul 30, 20178.71+1.71Moderate473
4Jul 15, 19888.66+1.66Moderate1,240
5May 30, 20078.62+1.62Moderate600
6May 31, 19968.49+1.49Moderate1,070
7Jul 31, 19628.18+1.18Moderate1,740
8Jul 24, 19938.12+1.12Moderate722
9Jun 18, 19727.94+0.94Minor1,670
10Jul 29, 20187.89+0.89Minor378
11May 27, 20217.84+0.84Minor377
12Aug 12, 19997.80+0.80Minor637
13Jul 18, 20097.76+0.76Minor453
14Aug 4, 19927.74+0.74Minor645
15Jul 19, 19587.73+0.73Minor1,440
16May 24, 20087.67+0.67Minor442
17Jul 8, 19677.63+0.63Minor1,330
18Jun 16, 19847.55+0.55Minor689
19Jun 17, 19517.44+0.44Minor1,630
20Jul 10, 20047.42+0.42Minor590
21Jul 25, 19947.36+0.36Minor580
22Jul 31, 19757.34+0.34Minor1,190
23Oct 29, 20007.17+0.17Minor548
24Aug 12, 19987.10+0.10Minor533
25Jul 28, 19797.08+0.08Minor610
26Jul 12, 19637.06+0.06Minor916
27Aug 14, 20197.04+0.04Minor291
28May 27, 19907.000.00Minor566
29Jun 17, 19556.96−0.04Action964
30Jun 12, 19826.94−0.06Action578
31Mar 21, 19606.90−0.10Action865
32Jul 6, 19656.88−0.12Action1,000
33Jun 29, 19896.88−0.12Action540
34Jul 10, 19776.72−0.28Action534
35Jul 11, 19866.71−0.29Action527
36Jun 27, 19576.68−0.32Action1,040
37Aug 9, 20156.68−0.32Action258
38Jun 24, 19956.49−0.51Action426
39Aug 1, 19976.45−0.55Action415
40Jun 22, 19646.28−0.72Action844
41May 18, 19596.18−0.82Action565
42Aug 18, 19546.07−0.93Action780
43Jul 13, 19786.07−0.93Action395
44Jul 20, 19735.98−1.02Action778
45May 24, 20145.95−1.05Action194
46Jun 29, 19815.87−1.13Action379
47Jun 13, 20105.86−1.14Action212
48Jul 20, 19615.77−1.23Action455
49Jul 21, 19695.65−1.35Action600
50Aug 4, 19685.58−1.42Action596

The worst floods along the Frenchman Creek

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

May 26, 2023: 12.26 ft here, major flooding

  • CulbertsonNE · May 26, 2023 · 10.40 ft · Moderate

July 15, 1988: 8.66 ft here, moderate flooding

May 30, 2007: 8.62 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Frenchman Creek

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

Flood gauges on the Frenchman Creek
Palisade this gaugeNE7.012.26 ft, May 26, 20231
CulbertsonNE8.014.80 ft, May 31, 19351

Other gauges in Hayes County

Flood gauges in Hayes County
Palisade10.013.45 ft, May 26, 20231

Hayes County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Nebraska

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PALN1, 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.