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Middle Loup River near St. Paul

Highest listed crest 12.69 ftFlood stage 8.0 ft93 crests since 1947

The Middle Loup River near St. Paul crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 93 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1947 to 2025. The highest, 12.69 ft on June 23, 1947, was major flooding, 4.69 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
12.69 ft
June 23, 1947; 72,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
8.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.0 ft
Crests at major
2
23rd of 187 gauges in Nebraska
Most recent flood crest
March 14, 2019
9.54 ft, minor flooding
Location
Howard County
Nebraska

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Middle Loup River near St. Paul
Action stage7.06Mar 10, 1979The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)8.05Mar 14, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage10.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.02Mar 17, 1978Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

93 crests from 1947 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Middle Loup River near St. Paul, 1947 to 2025 2468101214ft Flood stage 8.0 ftMajor 12.0 ft Jun 23, 1947: 12.69 ft, major flooding; 72,000 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 1961: 5.80 ft, below flood stageFeb 13, 1961: 5.80 ft, below flood stageMay 22, 1961: 5.80 ft, below flood stage; 7,200 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1962: 7.16 ft, action stageJun 17, 1962: 6.68 ft, below flood stage; 11,500 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 1962: 6.98 ft, below flood stageSep 11, 1963: 5.09 ft, below flood stage; 3,430 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1964: 7.12 ft, action stageJun 23, 1964: 5.23 ft, below flood stage; 4,800 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1965: 7.02 ft, action stage; 14,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1966: 7.55 ft, action stageJun 9, 1966: 5.73 ft, below flood stage; 6,620 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1967: 8.50 ft, minor flooding; 22,900 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1968: 8.28 ft, minor flooding; 24,900 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1969: 7.43 ft, action stage; 8,600 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1970: 5.67 ft, below flood stageApr 14, 1970: 4.54 ft, below flood stage; 2,940 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1972: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 9,050 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1973: 6.15 ft, below flood stageJul 25, 1973: 5.45 ft, below flood stage; 7,450 cubic feet per secondDec 30, 1973: 6.27 ft, below flood stageJun 9, 1974: 5.29 ft, below flood stage; 4,050 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1975: 6.18 ft, below flood stageJun 22, 1975: 5.42 ft, below flood stage; 5,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1976: 8.15 ft, minor floodingJun 24, 1976: 5.05 ft, below flood stage; 3,690 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1977: 5.94 ft, below flood stageSep 12, 1977: 5.38 ft, below flood stage; 6,850 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1978: 12.21 ft, major flooding; 23,000 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1979: 7.23 ft, action stageMar 18, 1979: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 6,180 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1980: 6.49 ft, below flood stageMar 30, 1980: 3.78 ft, below flood stage; 4,980 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1980: 5.29 ft, below flood stageAug 6, 1981: 4.69 ft, below flood stage; 12,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1982: 6.61 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1982: 4.38 ft, below flood stage; 7,650 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 1983: 4.58 ft, below flood stageJun 28, 1983: 4.41 ft, below flood stage; 9,580 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1984: 6.46 ft, below flood stage; 29,100 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 1985: 4.62 ft, below flood stage; 11,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1986: 5.03 ft, below flood stageMar 18, 1987: 4.57 ft, below flood stage; 7,920 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1988: 5.42 ft, below flood stageJul 1, 1988: 4.17 ft, below flood stage; 5,400 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1989: 6.84 ft, below flood stageJul 15, 1989: 4.71 ft, below flood stage; 10,100 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1990: 6.00 ft, below flood stageJun 16, 1990: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 7,420 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1991: 5.96 ft, below flood stageMay 25, 1991: 4.12 ft, below flood stage; 5,880 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1992: 5.95 ft, below flood stageMay 16, 1992: 4.47 ft, below flood stage; 8,250 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1993: 8.32 ft, minor floodingJul 27, 1993: 6.00 ft, below flood stage; 24,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1994: 6.30 ft, below flood stageMar 6, 1994: 3.70 ft, below flood stage; 6,250 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1995: 5.21 ft, below flood stage; 14,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1996: 5.81 ft, below flood stageFeb 20, 1997: 5.58 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1998: 4.22 ft, below flood stage; 6,820 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 1999: 5.12 ft, below flood stageMar 14, 2000: 6.20 ft, below flood stageJul 4, 2000: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 4,690 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2001: 4.55 ft, below flood stage; 9,100 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2002: 4.74 ft, below flood stageAug 27, 2002: 3.86 ft, below flood stage; 4,540 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 2003: 4.42 ft, below flood stageMay 5, 2003: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 5,160 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 2004: 4.15 ft, below flood stage; 6,070 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 2005: 5.30 ft, below flood stageSep 10, 2006: 4.45 ft, below flood stage; 8,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2007: 6.48 ft, below flood stageMay 30, 2007: 4.89 ft, below flood stage; 11,900 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2008: 5.55 ft, below flood stage; 20,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2009: 4.54 ft, below flood stageJun 14, 2010: 4.89 ft, below flood stage; 14,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2011: 4.13 ft, below flood stageApr 28, 2012: 3.11 ft, below flood stage; 2,340 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2013: 3.94 ft, below flood stage; 6,840 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2014: 5.08 ft, below flood stageMay 30, 2015: 3.55 ft, below flood stage; 3,700 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 2016: 3.67 ft, below flood stage; 4,540 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 2017: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 2018: 6.20 ft, below flood stageMar 14, 2019: 9.54 ft, minor flooding; 38,200 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2020: 2.80 ft, below flood stage; 4,820 cubic feet per secondJan 28, 2021: 5.30 ft, below flood stageJan 18, 2022: 3.65 ft, below flood stage; 1,140 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 2023: 3.51 ft, below flood stageJun 22, 2024: 4.75 ft, below flood stageJun 26, 2025: 4.04 ft, below flood stage Highest, 12.69 ft, Jun 23, 1947 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Middle Loup River near St. Paul 1940s: 1 1950s: 0 1960s: 2 2 1970s: 2 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 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 93 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Middle Loup River near St. Paul
1Jun 23, 194712.69+4.69Major72,000
2Mar 17, 197812.21+4.21Major23,000
3Mar 14, 20199.54+1.54Minor38,200
4Jun 15, 19678.50+0.50Minor22,900
5Mar 7, 19938.32+0.32Minor—
6Jun 25, 19688.28+0.28Minor24,900
7Feb 14, 19768.15+0.15Minor—
8Feb 12, 19667.55−0.45Action—
9Mar 21, 19697.43−0.57Action8,600
10Mar 10, 19797.23−0.77Action—
11Mar 23, 19627.16−0.84Action—
12Feb 21, 19647.12−0.88Action—
13May 26, 19657.02−0.98Action14,700
14Dec 16, 19626.98−1.02Below flood stage—
15Mar 10, 19896.84−1.16Below flood stage—
16Jun 17, 19626.68−1.32Below flood stage11,500
17Feb 21, 19826.61−1.39Below flood stage—
18Mar 6, 19806.49−1.51Below flood stage—
19Feb 20, 20076.48−1.52Below flood stage—
20Jun 12, 19846.46−1.54Below flood stage29,100
21Feb 20, 19946.30−1.70Below flood stage—
22Dec 30, 19736.27−1.73Below flood stage—
23Mar 14, 20006.20−1.80Below flood stage—
24Mar 4, 20186.20−1.80Below flood stage—
25Feb 15, 19756.18−1.82Below flood stage—
26Jan 19, 19736.15−1.85Below flood stage—
27Jan 21, 19906.00−2.00Below flood stage—
28Jul 27, 19936.00−2.00Below flood stage24,100
29Feb 13, 19915.96−2.04Below flood stage—
30Jan 18, 19925.95−2.05Below flood stage—
31Feb 15, 19775.94−2.06Below flood stage—
32Jul 26, 19725.89−2.11Below flood stage9,050
33Feb 22, 19965.81−2.19Below flood stage—
34Jan 25, 19615.80−2.20Below flood stage—
35Feb 13, 19615.80−2.20Below flood stage—
36May 22, 19615.80−2.20Below flood stage7,200
37Jun 9, 19665.73−2.27Below flood stage6,620
38Jan 27, 19705.67−2.33Below flood stage—
39Feb 20, 19975.58−2.42Below flood stage—
40May 24, 20085.55−2.45Below flood stage20,000
41Jul 25, 19735.45−2.55Below flood stage7,450
42Jun 22, 19755.42−2.58Below flood stage5,700
43Feb 18, 19885.42−2.58Below flood stage—
44Sep 12, 19775.38−2.62Below flood stage6,850
45Dec 8, 20055.30−2.70Below flood stage—
46Jan 28, 20215.30−2.70Below flood stage—
47Jun 9, 19745.29−2.71Below flood stage4,050
48Dec 4, 19805.29−2.71Below flood stage—
49Jun 23, 19645.23−2.77Below flood stage4,800
50May 28, 19955.21−2.79Below flood stage14,900

The worst floods along the Middle Loup River

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

March 14, 2019: 9.54 ft here, minor flooding

  • RockvilleNE · Mar 13, 2019 · 11.43 ft · Moderate · its highest

Gauges on the Middle Loup River

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

Flood gauges on the Middle Loup River
RockvilleNE8.511.43 ft, Mar 13, 20190
St. Paul this gaugeNE8.012.69 ft, Jun 23, 19472

Other gauges in Howard County

Flood gauges in Howard County
St. Paul7.011.49 ft, Mar 14, 20190
Dannebrog17.021.63 ft, Jun 22, 20240

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SPLN1, 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.