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Niobrara River near Verdel

Highest listed crest 19.38 ftFlood stage 8.0 ft41 crests since 1967

The Niobrara River near Verdel crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 41 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1967 to 2025. The highest, 19.38 ft on March 14, 2019, was major flooding, 11.38 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Niobrara River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
19.38 ft
March 14, 2019
Flood stage
8.0 ft
Major flooding from 13.0 ft
Crests at major
1
38th of 187 gauges in Nebraska
Most recent flood crest
March 14, 2019
19.38 ft, major flooding
Location
Knox County
Nebraska

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Niobrara River near Verdel
Action stage7.06Jan 8, 2023The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)8.01Mar 20, 2001Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage9.50—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage13.01Mar 14, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

41 crests from 1967 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Niobrara River near Verdel, 1967 to 2025 05101520ft Flood stage 8.0 ftMajor 13.0 ft Sep 18, 1967: 6.05 ft, below flood stage; 9,460 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1986: 7.18 ft, action stageMar 24, 1987: 4.40 ft, below flood stageFeb 10, 1988: 6.04 ft, below flood stageMar 14, 1989: 6.30 ft, below flood stage; 4,090 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1990: 5.54 ft, below flood stageJan 11, 1991: 5.72 ft, below flood stageMar 11, 1992: 3.60 ft, below flood stage; 2,940 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1993: 4.10 ft, below flood stage; 5,790 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1994: 4.30 ft, below flood stage; 6,620 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1995: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 11,600 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1996: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 10,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1997: 7.92 ft, action stage; 7,600 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1998: 5.59 ft, below flood stageJul 20, 1999: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 12,200 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 2000: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 4,620 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2001: 8.20 ft, minor floodingJan 9, 2002: 4.26 ft, below flood stageJan 31, 2003: 5.52 ft, below flood stageFeb 23, 2004: 5.17 ft, below flood stageJan 23, 2005: 6.21 ft, below flood stageApr 8, 2006: 3.99 ft, below flood stage; 5,230 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2007: 5.90 ft, below flood stageJun 6, 2008: 5.56 ft, below flood stage; 12,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2009: 5.38 ft, below flood stageJul 22, 2010: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 34,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2011: 6.31 ft, below flood stageJan 17, 2012: 4.43 ft, below flood stageFeb 24, 2013: 5.14 ft, below flood stageJan 26, 2014: 5.44 ft, below flood stageFeb 5, 2015: 4.40 ft, below flood stageJan 10, 2016: 6.18 ft, below flood stageFeb 14, 2017: 5.09 ft, below flood stageMar 8, 2018: 5.72 ft, below flood stageMar 14, 2019: 19.38 ft, major floodingDec 30, 2020: 7.08 ft, action stage; 1,980 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2021: 7.06 ft, action stageDec 30, 2022: 7.00 ft, action stageJan 8, 2023: 7.06 ft, action stageJan 24, 2024: 5.78 ft, below flood stageFeb 27, 2025: 6.03 ft, below flood stage Highest, 19.38 ft, Mar 14, 2019 197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Niobrara River near Verdel 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 1 1 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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. 40 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 5.70 ft on May 2, 1938; 5.49 ft on Mar 20, 1939; 4.95 ft on Mar 18, 1940; 6.69 ft on Mar 19, 1959; 10.10 ft on Mar 27, 1960; 5.62 ft on May 14, 1961; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Niobrara River near Verdel
1Mar 14, 201919.38+11.38Major—
2Mar 20, 20018.20+0.20Minor—
3Feb 22, 19977.92−0.08Action7,600
4Mar 1, 19867.18−0.82Action—
5Dec 30, 20207.08−0.92Action1,980
6Jan 5, 20217.06−0.94Action—
7Jan 8, 20237.06−0.94Action—
8Dec 30, 20227.00−1.00Action—
9Jul 22, 20106.90−1.10Below flood stage34,100
10Feb 16, 20116.31−1.69Below flood stage—
11Mar 14, 19896.30−1.70Below flood stage4,090
12Jan 23, 20056.21−1.79Below flood stage—
13Jan 10, 20166.18−1.82Below flood stage—
14Sep 18, 19676.05−1.95Below flood stage9,460
15Feb 10, 19886.04−1.96Below flood stage—
16Feb 27, 20256.03−1.97Below flood stage—
17Feb 24, 20075.90−2.10Below flood stage—
18Jan 24, 20245.78−2.22Below flood stage—
19Jan 11, 19915.72−2.28Below flood stage—
20Mar 8, 20185.72−2.28Below flood stage—
21Jan 22, 19985.59−2.41Below flood stage—
22Jun 6, 20085.56−2.44Below flood stage12,400
23Jan 2, 19905.54−2.46Below flood stage—
24Jan 31, 20035.52−2.48Below flood stage—
25Jan 26, 20145.44−2.56Below flood stage—
26Feb 14, 20095.38−2.62Below flood stage—
27Jul 20, 19995.28−2.72Below flood stage12,200
28Feb 23, 20045.17−2.83Below flood stage—
29Feb 24, 20135.14−2.86Below flood stage—
30May 28, 19955.10−2.90Below flood stage11,600
31May 28, 19965.10−2.90Below flood stage10,000
32Feb 14, 20175.09−2.91Below flood stage—
33Jan 17, 20124.43−3.57Below flood stage—
34Mar 24, 19874.40−3.60Below flood stage—
35Feb 5, 20154.40−3.60Below flood stage—
36Mar 6, 19944.30−3.70Below flood stage6,620
37Jan 9, 20024.26−3.74Below flood stage—
38Mar 10, 19934.10−3.90Below flood stage5,790
39Apr 8, 20063.99−4.01Below flood stage5,230
40May 18, 20003.93−4.07Below flood stage4,620
41Mar 11, 19923.60−4.40Below flood stage2,940

The worst floods along the Niobrara River

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

March 14, 2019: 19.38 ft here, major flooding

  • NiobraraNE · Mar 14, 2019 · 41.64 ft · Major · its highest
  • ButteNE · Mar 14, 2019 · 19.41 ft · Major · its highest
  • MariavilleNE · Mar 14, 2019 · 7.72 ft · Moderate · its highest

Gauges on the Niobrara River

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

Flood gauges on the Niobrara River
SparksNE6.012.17 ft, Feb 5, 20140
MariavilleNE6.07.72 ft, Mar 14, 20190
ButteNE5.519.41 ft, Mar 14, 20191
Verdel this gaugeNE8.019.38 ft, Mar 14, 20191
NiobraraNE37.041.64 ft, Mar 14, 20191

Other gauges in Knox County

Flood gauges in Knox County
Center22.023.69 ft, Mar 13, 20190
Niobrara9.011.68 ft, Mar 13, 20190
Niobrara21.026.76 ft, Jun 26, 20111
Verdel24.029.12 ft, Jun 30, 20112
Niobrara37.041.64 ft, Mar 14, 20191
Verdel13.518.26 ft, Mar 14, 20192
Verdigre12.012.69 ft, Mar 13, 20190

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge VRDN1, 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.