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Platte River near Overton

Highest listed crest 10.43 ftFlood stage 7.5 ft77 crests since 1969

The Platte River near Overton crested above flood stage 20 times among the 77 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1969 to 2025. The highest, 10.43 ft on May 15, 1973, was minor flooding, 2.93 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Platte River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
10.43 ft
May 15, 1973; 19,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.5 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
0
20 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
June 17, 2015
7.55 ft, minor flooding
Location
Dawson County
Near Lexington (12.7 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Platte River near Overton
Action stage6.516Jul 10, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.520Jun 17, 2015Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

77 crests from 1969 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Platte River near Overton, 1969 to 2025 2468101214ft Flood stage 7.5 ftMajor 14.0 ft Jan 23, 1969: 9.57 ft, minor floodingJun 30, 1969: 8.48 ft, minor flooding; 7,260 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1970: 8.56 ft, minor flooding; 8,660 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1971: 8.94 ft, minor flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 1972: 9.78 ft, minor floodingMay 14, 1972: 7.24 ft, action stage; 4,750 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1973: 10.43 ft, minor flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1974: 10.36 ft, minor floodingMar 21, 1974: 7.85 ft, minor flooding; 8,810 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1975: 7.02 ft, action stage; 5,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1976: 6.45 ft, below flood stageApr 11, 1976: 6.28 ft, below flood stage; 2,860 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1977: 7.41 ft, action stageMay 22, 1977: 6.64 ft, action stage; 5,890 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1978: 7.81 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 1978: 6.24 ft, below flood stage; 3,600 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1979: 6.79 ft, action stage; 7,580 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1980: 8.33 ft, minor flooding; 14,600 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1981: 5.98 ft, below flood stage; 3,730 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1982: 7.05 ft, action stageMar 9, 1982: 5.34 ft, below flood stage; 2,520 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1983: 9.44 ft, minor floodingJun 28, 1983: 9.38 ft, minor flooding; 22,900 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1984: 7.96 ft, minor flooding; 15,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 1985: 8.43 ft, minor floodingFeb 23, 1985: 6.10 ft, below flood stage; 7,160 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 1985: 6.50 ft, action stageJun 18, 1986: 6.32 ft, below flood stage; 7,590 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1987: 6.82 ft, action stage; 6,890 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1988: 9.25 ft, minor floodingFeb 24, 1988: 6.10 ft, below flood stage; 4,990 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 1989: 6.61 ft, action stageJun 27, 1989: 6.07 ft, below flood stage; 4,090 cubic feet per secondDec 12, 1989: 6.16 ft, below flood stageAug 15, 1990: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 3,200 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1991: 6.48 ft, below flood stageMay 24, 1991: 6.45 ft, below flood stage; 4,590 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1992: 6.01 ft, below flood stage; 3,230 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1993: 7.28 ft, action stageMar 9, 1993: 6.46 ft, below flood stage; 4,930 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1994: 5.63 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1995: 8.81 ft, minor flooding; 14,500 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1996: 7.32 ft, action stageSep 23, 1996: 6.35 ft, below flood stage; 6,300 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1997: 7.38 ft, action stage; 11,000 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1998: 6.15 ft, below flood stage; 6,070 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 1999: 8.08 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1999: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 4,480 cubic feet per secondOct 21, 2000: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 3,160 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 2001: 2.73 ft, below flood stage; 2,240 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2002: 4.54 ft, below flood stage; 2,060 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2002: 4.55 ft, below flood stageApr 17, 2003: 4.56 ft, below flood stage; 2,010 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 2004: 4.62 ft, below flood stage; 2,140 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2005: 4.98 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 2005: 4.87 ft, below flood stage; 2,120 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2006: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 2,180 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2007: 6.42 ft, below flood stage; 4,420 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2008: 9.05 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2009: 5.99 ft, below flood stage; 3,700 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2010: 6.62 ft, action stage; 7,500 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2011: 6.75 ft, action stage; 8,820 cubic feet per secondOct 9, 2011: 5.12 ft, below flood stage; 5,580 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2012: 4.57 ft, below flood stage; 3,540 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2013: 8.11 ft, minor flooding; 13,100 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2014: 6.32 ft, below flood stage; 7,580 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 2015: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 15,500 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2016: 6.44 ft, below flood stage; 8,740 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 2017: 5.62 ft, below flood stageJan 16, 2018: 6.66 ft, action stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2019: 6.57 ft, action stage; 10,400 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2020: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 3,980 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2021: 5.99 ft, below flood stageJan 10, 2022: 5.21 ft, below flood stageJul 1, 2023: 5.82 ft, below flood stageJan 15, 2024: 6.23 ft, below flood stageFeb 20, 2025: 5.41 ft, below flood stage Highest, 10.43 ft, May 15, 1973 197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Platte River near Overton 1960s: 2 1970s: 7 7 1980s: 6 1990s: 2 2000s: 1 2010s: 2 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.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 77 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Platte River near Overton
1May 15, 197310.43+2.93Minor19,100
2Jan 9, 197410.36+2.86Minor—
3Jan 26, 19729.78+2.28Minor—
4Jan 23, 19699.57+2.07Minor—
5Jun 22, 19839.44+1.94Minor—
6Jun 28, 19839.38+1.88Minor22,900
7Jan 21, 19889.25+1.75Minor—
8May 25, 20089.05+1.55Minor11,200
9Jun 13, 19718.94+1.44Minor15,700
10Jun 15, 19958.81+1.31Minor14,500
11Jun 26, 19708.56+1.06Minor8,660
12Jun 30, 19698.48+0.98Minor7,260
13Feb 11, 19858.43+0.93Minor—
14May 25, 19808.33+0.83Minor14,600
15Sep 25, 20138.11+0.61Minor13,100
16Aug 19, 19998.08+0.58Minor12,200
17Jun 13, 19847.96+0.46Minor15,600
18Mar 21, 19747.85+0.35Minor8,810
19Jan 19, 19787.81+0.31Minor—
20Jun 17, 20157.55+0.05Minor15,500
21Jan 16, 19777.41−0.09Action—
22Jun 19, 19977.38−0.12Action11,000
23Jan 19, 19967.32−0.18Action—
24Feb 17, 19937.28−0.22Action—
25May 14, 19727.24−0.26Action4,750
26Jan 10, 19827.05−0.45Action—
27Jun 21, 19757.02−0.48Action5,500
28May 31, 19876.82−0.68Action6,890
29Jun 28, 19796.79−0.71Action7,580
30Jun 20, 20116.75−0.75Action8,820
31Jan 16, 20186.66−0.84Action1,270
32May 22, 19776.64−0.86Action5,890
33Jun 27, 20106.62−0.88Action7,500
34Feb 11, 19896.61−0.89Action—
35Jul 10, 20196.57−0.93Action10,400
36Dec 16, 19856.50−1.00Action—
37Jan 13, 19916.48−1.02Below flood stage—
38Mar 9, 19936.46−1.04Below flood stage4,930
39Feb 5, 19766.45−1.05Below flood stage—
40May 24, 19916.45−1.05Below flood stage4,590
41May 29, 20166.44−1.06Below flood stage8,740
42Jun 2, 20076.42−1.08Below flood stage4,420
43Sep 23, 19966.35−1.15Below flood stage6,300
44Jun 18, 19866.32−1.18Below flood stage7,590
45Jun 12, 20146.32−1.18Below flood stage7,580
46Apr 11, 19766.28−1.22Below flood stage2,860
47Mar 15, 19786.24−1.26Below flood stage3,600
48Jan 15, 20246.23−1.27Below flood stage—
49Dec 12, 19896.16−1.34Below flood stage—
50Apr 4, 19986.15−1.35Below flood stage6,070

The worst floods along the Platte River

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

May 15, 1973: 10.43 ft here, minor flooding

  • BradyNE · May 14, 1973 · 9.60 ft · Moderate
  • Grand IslandNE · May 17, 1973 · 7.40 ft · Moderate

January 9, 1974: 10.36 ft here, minor flooding

June 22, 1983: 9.44 ft here, minor flooding

  • BradyNE · Jun 29, 1983 · 9.20 ft · Moderate
  • LouisvilleNE · Jun 19, 1983 · 9.36 ft · Minor
  • North BendNE · Jun 18, 1983 · 8.97 ft · Minor
  • OdessaNE · Jun 29, 1983 · 7.82 ft · Minor
  • KearneyNE · Jun 29, 1983 · 7.42 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Platte River

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

Flood gauges on the Platte River
BradyNE7.59.80 ft, Sep 23, 20130
FremontNE11.011.91 ft, Jun 23, 20240
LouisvilleNE9.013.82 ft, Mar 16, 20192
MaxwellNE9.010.79 ft, Sep 23, 20130
North BendNE8.015.55 ft, Mar 19, 19783
AshlandNE20.024.32 ft, Mar 16, 20191
DuncanNE8.08.07 ft, Jun 14, 19830
Grand IslandNE6.58.16 ft, Mar 27, 196015
KearneyNE7.08.62 ft, Feb 24, 19940
LesharaNE8.011.84 ft, Feb 9, 19960
OdessaNE7.08.27 ft, Jul 9, 20190
Overton this gaugeNE7.510.43 ft, May 15, 19730
VeniceNE15.519.92 ft, Mar 15, 20190

Other gauges in Dawson County

Flood gauges in Dawson County
Overton11.011.40 ft, Jul 10, 20190
Overton8.59.63 ft, May 24, 20080

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge OVTN1, 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.