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North Loup River near St. Paul

Highest listed crest 11.49 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft82 crests since 1947

The North Loup River near St. Paul crested above flood stage 8 times among the 82 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1947 to 2025. The highest, 11.49 ft on March 14, 2019, was moderate flooding, 4.49 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the North Loup River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
11.49 ft
March 14, 2019; 41,900 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.0 ft
Crests at major
0
8 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 14, 2019
11.49 ft, moderate 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, North Loup River near St. Paul
Action stage6.013Feb 15, 2023The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.07Mar 7, 1993Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage10.01Mar 14, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

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

Listed crests at the North Loup River near St. Paul, 1947 to 2025 24681012ft Flood stage 7.0 ftMajor 12.0 ft Jun 22, 1947: 9.60 ft, minor flooding; 36,000 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1970: 5.77 ft, below flood stageApr 19, 1970: 4.72 ft, below flood stage; 2,340 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1971: 6.72 ft, action stageMay 11, 1971: 5.06 ft, below flood stage; 4,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1972: 6.22 ft, action stageMay 23, 1972: 5.72 ft, below flood stage; 6,700 cubic feet per secondJan 28, 1973: 5.95 ft, below flood stageApr 15, 1973: 5.02 ft, below flood stage; 3,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1974: 6.33 ft, action stageJun 10, 1974: 4.97 ft, below flood stage; 3,270 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1975: 5.53 ft, below flood stageJun 20, 1975: 5.13 ft, below flood stage; 3,560 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1976: 5.64 ft, below flood stageJun 24, 1976: 4.69 ft, below flood stage; 2,260 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1977: 5.75 ft, below flood stageAug 31, 1977: 5.24 ft, below flood stage; 3,640 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1978: 7.70 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 1979: 8.13 ft, minor floodingDec 21, 1979: 8.02 ft, minor floodingApr 8, 1980: 4.63 ft, below flood stage; 2,310 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 1981: 7.38 ft, minor flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1982: 8.26 ft, minor floodingMay 28, 1982: 5.14 ft, below flood stage; 4,480 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 1983: 5.88 ft, below flood stageJun 28, 1983: 5.40 ft, below flood stage; 6,540 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1984: 6.16 ft, action stageApr 21, 1984: 4.63 ft, below flood stage; 3,660 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1985: 6.03 ft, action stageApr 21, 1985: 4.62 ft, below flood stage; 3,340 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1986: 5.00 ft, below flood stage; 4,560 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1987: 4.49 ft, below flood stage; 3,960 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1988: 5.75 ft, below flood stageFeb 29, 1988: 4.86 ft, below flood stage; 3,100 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1989: 6.63 ft, action stageJul 15, 1989: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 7,800 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1990: 5.22 ft, below flood stageJun 16, 1990: 4.76 ft, below flood stage; 4,030 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1991: 5.46 ft, below flood stageMay 18, 1991: 4.65 ft, below flood stage; 3,390 cubic feet per secondNov 12, 1991: 5.50 ft, below flood stageAug 5, 1992: 5.41 ft, below flood stage; 8,700 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1993: 8.85 ft, minor floodingJul 23, 1993: 5.92 ft, below flood stage; 11,100 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1994: 6.79 ft, action stageMay 27, 1995: 5.32 ft, below flood stage; 7,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1996: 5.79 ft, below flood stageFeb 22, 1996: 4.75 ft, below flood stage; 5,890 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1997: 6.14 ft, action stageJun 18, 1998: 5.17 ft, below flood stage; 8,050 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1999: 4.96 ft, below flood stageJun 27, 1999: 4.80 ft, below flood stage; 6,130 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 2000: 4.41 ft, below flood stage; 4,410 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2001: 6.12 ft, action stageMar 12, 2002: 4.99 ft, below flood stageJun 9, 2002: 4.17 ft, below flood stage; 3,470 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2003: 4.12 ft, below flood stageMay 11, 2003: 3.86 ft, below flood stage; 2,440 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2004: 3.99 ft, below flood stage; 2,810 cubic feet per secondDec 28, 2005: 4.08 ft, below flood stageMar 31, 2006: 3.94 ft, below flood stage; 2,680 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 2007: 6.71 ft, action stageMay 30, 2007: 5.33 ft, below flood stage; 8,310 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2008: 4.85 ft, below flood stage; 6,450 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 2009: 4.87 ft, below flood stageJun 14, 2010: 5.86 ft, below flood stage; 11,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2011: 5.45 ft, below flood stageJun 21, 2011: 4.42 ft, below flood stage; 4,130 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2012: 4.11 ft, below flood stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 2013: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 4,490 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2014: 5.58 ft, below flood stageFeb 8, 2015: 4.56 ft, below flood stageApr 27, 2016: 4.53 ft, below flood stage; 5,120 cubic feet per secondOct 7, 2017: 4.89 ft, below flood stage; 6,390 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 2018: 6.30 ft, action stageMar 14, 2019: 11.49 ft, moderate flooding; 41,900 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 2020: 4.34 ft, below flood stage; 4,820 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 2021: 6.57 ft, action stageMar 1, 2022: 4.90 ft, below flood stageFeb 15, 2023: 6.57 ft, action stageJun 22, 2024: 4.89 ft, below flood stageFeb 19, 2025: 4.95 ft, below flood stage Highest, 11.49 ft, Mar 14, 2019 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, North Loup River near St. Paul 1940s: 1 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 3 3 1980s: 2 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.
  3. 26 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 5.85 ft on Mar 9, 1955; 4.94 ft on Jun 19, 1955; 6.07 ft on Mar 4, 1956; 5.62 ft on May 29, 1956; 7.73 ft on Feb 26, 1957; 5.67 ft on Jun 16, 1957; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 82 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, North Loup River near St. Paul
1Mar 14, 201911.49+4.49Moderate41,900
2Jun 22, 19479.60+2.60Minor36,000
3Mar 7, 19938.85+1.85Minor—
4Feb 22, 19828.26+1.26Minor—
5Mar 15, 19798.13+1.13Minor—
6Dec 21, 19798.02+1.02Minor—
7Mar 18, 19787.70+0.70Minor—
8Aug 5, 19817.38+0.38Minor18,600
9Mar 4, 19946.79−0.21Action—
10Feb 19, 19716.72−0.28Action—
11Feb 22, 20076.71−0.29Action—
12Mar 11, 19896.63−0.37Action—
13Feb 8, 20216.57−0.43Action—
14Feb 15, 20236.57−0.43Action—
15Feb 13, 19746.33−0.67Action—
16Mar 4, 20186.30−0.70Action—
17Feb 28, 19726.22−0.78Action—
18Jan 3, 19846.16−0.84Action—
19Feb 19, 19976.14−0.86Action—
20Mar 14, 20016.12−0.88Action—
21Feb 25, 19856.03−0.97Action—
22Jan 28, 19735.95−1.05Below flood stage—
23Jul 23, 19935.92−1.08Below flood stage11,100
24Feb 16, 19835.88−1.12Below flood stage—
25Jun 14, 20105.86−1.14Below flood stage11,900
26Feb 13, 19965.79−1.21Below flood stage—
27Jan 27, 19705.77−1.23Below flood stage—
28Feb 20, 19775.75−1.25Below flood stage—
29Feb 24, 19885.75−1.25Below flood stage—
30May 23, 19725.72−1.28Below flood stage6,700
31Feb 13, 19765.64−1.36Below flood stage—
32Mar 7, 20145.58−1.42Below flood stage—
33Mar 1, 19755.53−1.47Below flood stage—
34Nov 12, 19915.50−1.50Below flood stage—
35Feb 10, 19915.46−1.54Below flood stage—
36Feb 17, 20115.45−1.55Below flood stage—
37Aug 5, 19925.41−1.59Below flood stage8,700
38Jun 28, 19835.40−1.60Below flood stage6,540
39May 30, 20075.33−1.67Below flood stage8,310
40May 27, 19955.32−1.68Below flood stage7,800
41Aug 31, 19775.24−1.76Below flood stage3,640
42Jan 12, 19905.22−1.78Below flood stage—
43Jun 18, 19985.17−1.83Below flood stage8,050
44May 28, 19825.14−1.86Below flood stage4,480
45Jun 20, 19755.13−1.87Below flood stage3,560
46May 11, 19715.06−1.94Below flood stage4,200
47Apr 15, 19735.02−1.98Below flood stage3,600
48Feb 25, 19865.00−2.00Below flood stage4,560
49Mar 12, 20024.99−2.01Below flood stage—
50Jun 10, 19744.97−2.03Below flood stage3,270

The worst floods along the North Loup River

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

March 14, 2019: 11.49 ft here, moderate flooding

  • OrdNE · Mar 13, 2019 · 9.36 ft · Major · its highest

February 22, 1982: 8.26 ft here, minor flooding

  • OrdNE · Feb 21, 1982 · 5.82 ft · Minor

Gauges on the North Loup River

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

Flood gauges on the North Loup River
OrdNE5.59.36 ft, Mar 13, 20194
TaylorNE7.09.50 ft, Feb 25, 19570
St. Paul this gaugeNE7.011.49 ft, Mar 14, 20190

Other gauges in Howard County

Flood gauges in Howard County
St. Paul8.012.69 ft, Jun 23, 19472
Dannebrog17.021.63 ft, Jun 22, 20240

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SPUN1, 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.