Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Loup River at Columbus

Highest listed crest 20.07 ftFlood stage 10.5 ft67 crests since 1933

The Loup River at Columbus crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 67 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1933 to 2025. The highest, 20.07 ft on March 8, 1993, was major flooding, 9.57 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Loup River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
20.07 ft
March 8, 1993
Flood stage
10.5 ft
Major flooding from 17.0 ft
Crests at major
2
23rd of 187 gauges in Nebraska
Most recent flood crest
February 28, 2025
12.24 ft, minor flooding
Location
Platte County
Near Columbus (1.4 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Loup River at Columbus
Action stage9.58Feb 21, 2014The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.58Feb 28, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.02Aug 14, 1966Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage17.02Mar 14, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

67 crests from 1933 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Loup River at Columbus, 1933 to 2025 510152025ft Flood stage 10.5 ftMajor 17.0 ft Jul 8, 1933: 8.20 ft, below flood stage; 4,300 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1934: 6.59 ft, below flood stage; 9,620 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1935: 7.77 ft, below flood stage; 41,500 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1936: 10.57 ft, minor flooding; 40,000 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1937: 9.45 ft, below flood stage; 21,300 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 1938: 9.14 ft, below flood stage; 16,300 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1939: 8.05 ft, below flood stage; 12,200 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1940: 9.08 ft, below flood stage; 19,000 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1941: 8.60 ft, below flood stage; 14,400 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 1942: 9.80 ft, action stage; 25,700 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1943: 10.65 ft, minor flooding; 33,800 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1944: 8.09 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 1945: 9.41 ft, below flood stage; 19,600 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1946: 8.55 ft, below flood stage; 12,400 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1947: 14.00 ft, moderate flooding; 85,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 29, 1948: 11.00 ft, minor flooding; 32,300 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1949: 8.05 ft, below flood stage; 12,300 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 1950: 11.00 ft, minor flooding; 42,100 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1951: 8.80 ft, below flood stage; 11,500 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1952: 8.34 ft, below flood stage; 7,790 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1953: 9.14 ft, below flood stage; 18,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1954: 10.12 ft, action stageMar 11, 1955: 8.31 ft, below flood stage; 12,300 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1956: 8.22 ft, below flood stageJun 17, 1957: 10.40 ft, action stage; 26,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1958: 9.53 ft, action stageMar 5, 1959: 8.18 ft, below flood stageMar 28, 1960: 12.50 ft, minor flooding; 52,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1961: 8.38 ft, below flood stageMar 26, 1962: 9.48 ft, below flood stage; 19,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 1963: 8.04 ft, below flood stageMay 26, 1964: 9.43 ft, below flood stage; 28,200 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1965: 9.60 ft, action stage; 23,200 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1966: 16.42 ft, moderate flooding; 119,000 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1967: 10.37 ft, action stage; 49,600 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1968: 8.00 ft, below flood stageJun 26, 1968: 7.52 ft, below flood stage; 24,700 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1969: 11.00 ft, minor floodingJan 3, 1970: 8.00 ft, below flood stageFeb 20, 1971: 9.30 ft, below flood stage; 14,000 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1972: 7.99 ft, below flood stage; 18,000 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1973: 7.40 ft, below flood stageJan 10, 1974: 6.70 ft, below flood stageJan 11, 1975: 7.46 ft, below flood stageJan 3, 1976: 8.58 ft, below flood stageFeb 24, 1977: 6.36 ft, below flood stageMar 15, 1978: 8.87 ft, below flood stageJun 13, 1984: 11.32 ft, minor flooding; 45,000 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1993: 20.07 ft, major floodingOct 24, 2008: 7.09 ft, below flood stage; 13,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 2009: 9.10 ft, below flood stage; 25,200 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2010: 10.25 ft, action stage; 30,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2011: 7.67 ft, below flood stage; 17,400 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 2012: 7.70 ft, below flood stage; 13,400 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 2013: 7.84 ft, below flood stage; 14,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 2014: 9.56 ft, action stageFeb 9, 2015: 6.72 ft, below flood stageApr 28, 2016: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2017: 8.19 ft, below flood stage; 14,300 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2018: 7.69 ft, below flood stage; 10,900 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2019: 18.59 ft, major flooding; 98,500 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2020: 6.83 ft, below flood stageMar 15, 2021: 6.47 ft, below flood stage; 13,100 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2022: 5.56 ft, below flood stage; 7,970 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 2023: 6.39 ft, below flood stageJun 22, 2024: 8.82 ft, below flood stageFeb 28, 2025: 12.24 ft, minor flooding Highest, 20.07 ft, Mar 8, 1993 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Loup River at Columbus 1930s: 1 1940s: 3 3 1950s: 1 1960s: 3 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 2020s: 1 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 67 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Loup River at Columbus
1Mar 8, 199320.07+9.57Major—
2Mar 14, 201918.59+8.09Major98,500
3Aug 14, 196616.42+5.92Moderate119,000
4Jun 23, 194714.00+3.50Moderate85,000
5Mar 28, 196012.50+2.00Minor52,000
6Feb 28, 202512.24+1.74Minor—
7Jun 13, 198411.32+0.82Minor45,000
8Feb 29, 194811.00+0.50Minor32,300
9Jul 10, 195011.00+0.50Minor42,100
10Mar 21, 196911.00+0.50Minor—
11Jun 15, 194310.65+0.15Minor33,800
12Mar 5, 193610.57+0.07Minor40,000
13Jun 17, 195710.40−0.10Action26,000
14Jun 16, 196710.37−0.13Action49,600
15Jun 15, 201010.25−0.25Action30,500
16Feb 9, 195410.12−0.38Action—
17Sep 3, 19429.80−0.70Action25,700
18May 26, 19659.60−0.90Action23,200
19Feb 21, 20149.56−0.94Action—
20Feb 26, 19589.53−0.97Action—
21Mar 26, 19629.48−1.02Below flood stage19,200
22Jul 13, 19379.45−1.05Below flood stage21,300
23May 26, 19649.43−1.07Below flood stage28,200
24Jun 10, 19459.41−1.09Below flood stage19,600
25Feb 20, 19719.30−1.20Below flood stage14,000
26Sep 13, 19389.14−1.36Below flood stage16,300
27May 11, 19539.14−1.36Below flood stage18,200
28Feb 10, 20099.10−1.40Below flood stage25,200
29Jun 7, 19409.08−1.42Below flood stage19,000
30Mar 15, 19788.87−1.63Below flood stage—
31Jun 22, 20248.82−1.68Below flood stage—
32May 31, 19518.80−1.70Below flood stage11,500
33Jun 22, 19418.60−1.90Below flood stage14,400
34Jan 3, 19768.58−1.92Below flood stage—
35Jun 19, 19468.55−1.95Below flood stage12,400
36Feb 17, 19618.38−2.12Below flood stage—
37Mar 26, 19528.34−2.16Below flood stage7,790
38Mar 11, 19558.31−2.19Below flood stage12,300
39Mar 7, 19568.22−2.28Below flood stage—
40Jul 8, 19338.20−2.30Below flood stage4,300
41Aug 17, 20178.19−2.31Below flood stage14,300
42Mar 5, 19598.18−2.32Below flood stage—
43Jun 13, 19448.09−2.41Below flood stage—
44May 22, 19398.05−2.45Below flood stage12,200
45Jun 2, 19498.05−2.45Below flood stage12,300
46Feb 11, 19638.04−2.46Below flood stage—
47Jan 3, 19688.00−2.50Below flood stage—
48Jan 3, 19708.00−2.50Below flood stage—
49Jul 27, 19727.99−2.51Below flood stage18,000
50Oct 4, 20137.84−2.66Below flood stage14,700

The worst floods along the Loup River

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

March 8, 1993: 20.07 ft here, major flooding

  • GenoaNE · Mar 8, 1993 · 12.69 ft · Moderate

March 14, 2019: 18.59 ft here, major flooding

  • GenoaNE · Mar 14, 2019 · 15.39 ft · Major · its highest

August 14, 1966: 16.42 ft here, moderate flooding

  • GenoaNE · Aug 13, 1966 · 13.93 ft · Major

Gauges on the Loup River

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

Flood gauges on the Loup River
GenoaNE10.515.39 ft, Mar 14, 20194
Columbus this gaugeNE10.520.07 ft, Mar 8, 19932

Other gauges in Platte County

Flood gauges in Platte County
Duncan8.08.07 ft, Jun 14, 19830
Columbus30.032.76 ft, Jun 17, 19904

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CLMN1, 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.