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Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska

Highest listed crest 18.36 ftFlood stage 15.0 ft87 crests since 1940

The Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska crested above flood stage 6 times among the 87 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1940 to 2025. The highest, 18.36 ft on June 22, 1947, was moderate flooding, 3.36 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
18.36 ft
June 22, 1947; 30,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
15.0 ft
Major flooding from 19.0 ft
Crests at major
0
6 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
May 23, 2008
16.02 ft, minor flooding
Location
Red Willow County
Nebraska

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska
Action stage14.03Apr 24, 2007The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)15.05May 23, 2008Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage17.01Jun 22, 1947Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage19.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

87 crests from 1940 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska, 1940 to 2025 05101520ft Flood stage 15.0 ftMajor 19.0 ft Jun 7, 1940: 10.83 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1941: 12.40 ft, below flood stage; 4,610 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 1942: 10.28 ft, below flood stage; 930 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 1943: 9.90 ft, below flood stage; 739 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1944: 11.60 ft, below flood stage; 2,890 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1945: 15.02 ft, minor flooding; 3,500 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1946: 13.76 ft, below flood stage; 1,670 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1947: 18.36 ft, moderate flooding; 30,000 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1948: 16.77 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1949: 12.50 ft, below flood stage; 1,620 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1950: 12.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,070 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1951: 11.07 ft, below flood stage; 854 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1952: 11.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,120 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1953: 12.21 ft, below flood stage; 1,160 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1954: 12.23 ft, below flood stage; 1,140 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1955: 16.00 ft, minor flooding; 5,400 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1956: 15.57 ft, minor flooding; 2,940 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1957: 14.97 ft, action stage; 3,930 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1958: 10.89 ft, below flood stage; 858 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1959: 8.93 ft, below flood stage; 496 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1960: 14.73 ft, action stage; 830 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1961: 9.91 ft, below flood stage; 709 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1962: 13.86 ft, below flood stage; 2,210 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1963: 9.03 ft, below flood stage; 600 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1964: 6.30 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1965: 7.32 ft, below flood stage; 318 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1966: 7.44 ft, below flood stage; 333 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1967: 12.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1968: 8.98 ft, below flood stage; 533 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1969: 10.53 ft, below flood stage; 887 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1970: 6.19 ft, below flood stage; 168 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1971: 9.35 ft, below flood stage; 550 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1972: 5.76 ft, below flood stage; 136 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1973: 9.56 ft, below flood stage; 535 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1974: 8.11 ft, below flood stage; 311 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1975: 7.38 ft, below flood stage; 238 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1976: 5.17 ft, below flood stage; 91 cubic feet per secondAug 25, 1977: 6.97 ft, below flood stage; 190 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 1978: 6.67 ft, below flood stage; 161 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1979: 10.92 ft, below flood stage; 820 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1980: 7.71 ft, below flood stage; 269 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1981: 11.22 ft, below flood stage; 901 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1982: 6.48 ft, below flood stage; 163 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1983: 5.10 ft, below flood stage; 86 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 1984: 4.77 ft, below flood stage; 70 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1985: 7.77 ft, below flood stage; 249 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1986: 8.02 ft, below flood stage; 261 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1987: 5.87 ft, below flood stage; 109 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1988: 10.98 ft, below flood stage; 489 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1989: 8.70 ft, below flood stage; 303 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1990: 6.29 ft, below flood stage; 109 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 1991: 6.23 ft, below flood stage; 112 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1992: 9.29 ft, below flood stage; 237 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1993: 10.61 ft, below flood stage; 303 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1993: 10.61 ft, below flood stage; 303 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 1994: 5.29 ft, below flood stage; 66 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1995: 5.00 ft, below flood stage; 48 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1996: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 209 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1997: 6.62 ft, below flood stage; 164 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1998: 5.29 ft, below flood stage; 64 cubic feet per secondAug 11, 1999: 11.76 ft, below flood stage; 470 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2000: 12.33 ft, below flood stage; 597 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 2001: 4.00 ft, below flood stage; 141 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2002: 10.01 ft, below flood stage; 330 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 2003: 9.38 ft, below flood stageJan 4, 2004: 8.66 ft, below flood stageMar 30, 2005: 5.33 ft, below flood stage; 39 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 2006: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 101 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2007: 14.62 ft, action stage; 996 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2008: 16.02 ft, minor flooding; 3,900 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2010: 11.02 ft, below flood stage; 378 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2011: 7.29 ft, below flood stage; 126 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 2012: 5.83 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 2013: 7.02 ft, below flood stage; 128 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2014: 5.91 ft, below flood stage; 71 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 2015: 7.15 ft, below flood stage; 135 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2016: 7.82 ft, below flood stage; 142 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 2017: 5.16 ft, below flood stage; 28 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2018: 12.36 ft, below flood stage; 463 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 2019: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 110 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2020: 5.74 ft, below flood stage; 59 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2021: 6.45 ft, below flood stage; 83 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 2022: 5.31 ft, below flood stage; 35 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2023: 13.80 ft, below flood stage; 766 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 2024: 5.82 ft, below flood stage; 51 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 2025: 6.12 ft, below flood stageJul 15, 2025: 4.81 ft, below flood stage; 11 cubic feet per second Highest, 18.36 ft, Jun 22, 1947 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska 1940s: 3 3 1950s: 2 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 1 2010s: 0 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 87 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Red Willow Creek at 4W Indianola, Nebraska
1Jun 22, 194718.36+3.36Moderate30,000
2Jun 21, 194816.77+1.77Minor14,800
3May 23, 200816.02+1.02Minor3,900
4Jun 17, 195516.00+1.00Minor5,400
5Jul 5, 195615.57+0.57Minor2,940
6May 31, 194515.02+0.02Minor3,500
7May 14, 195714.97−0.03Action3,930
8Feb 4, 196014.73−0.27Action830
9Apr 24, 200714.62−0.38Action996
10Jul 8, 196213.86−1.14Below flood stage2,210
11May 27, 202313.80−1.20Below flood stage766
12May 30, 194613.76−1.24Below flood stage1,670
13Jun 13, 194912.50−2.50Below flood stage1,620
14Jun 2, 194112.40−2.60Below flood stage4,610
15Jun 20, 201812.36−2.64Below flood stage463
16Jul 22, 200012.33−2.67Below flood stage597
17Aug 17, 195412.23−2.77Below flood stage1,140
18Jul 11, 195312.21−2.79Below flood stage1,160
19Jul 31, 195012.00−3.00Below flood stage1,070
20Jun 21, 196712.00−3.00Below flood stage1,270
21May 27, 195211.90−3.10Below flood stage1,120
22Aug 11, 199911.76−3.24Below flood stage470
23Jul 11, 194411.60−3.40Below flood stage2,890
24Aug 6, 198111.22−3.78Below flood stage901
25Jun 8, 195111.07−3.93Below flood stage854
26Jun 14, 201011.02−3.98Below flood stage378
27Aug 13, 198810.98−4.02Below flood stage489
28Jul 28, 197910.92−4.08Below flood stage820
29Sep 14, 195810.89−4.11Below flood stage858
30Jun 7, 194010.83−4.17Below flood stage1,250
31Jul 2, 199310.61−4.39Below flood stage303
32Jul 27, 199310.61−4.39Below flood stage303
33Jul 25, 196910.53−4.47Below flood stage887
34Sep 2, 194210.28−4.72Below flood stage930
35Sep 13, 200210.01−4.99Below flood stage330
36May 21, 19619.91−5.09Below flood stage709
37Aug 21, 19439.90−5.10Below flood stage739
38May 26, 19739.56−5.44Below flood stage535
39Jan 25, 20039.38−5.62Below flood stage—
40Jun 9, 19719.35−5.65Below flood stage550
41Aug 7, 19929.29−5.71Below flood stage237
42Jul 15, 19639.03−5.97Below flood stage600
43Aug 4, 19688.98−6.02Below flood stage533
44May 20, 19598.93−6.07Below flood stage496
45Jun 25, 19898.70−6.30Below flood stage303
46Jan 4, 20048.66−6.34Below flood stage—
47Jun 9, 19748.11−6.89Below flood stage311
48Jun 4, 19868.02−6.98Below flood stage261
49May 27, 20167.82−7.18Below flood stage142
50Jun 26, 19857.77−7.23Below flood stage249

Other gauges in Red Willow County

Flood gauges in Red Willow County
McCook17.025.43 ft, Aug 7, 19506
McCook9.010.51 ft, May 26, 20230

Red Willow County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Nebraska

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RWCN1, 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.