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Congaree River at Columbia

Highest listed crest 39.80 ftFlood stage 19.0 ft200 crests since 1892

The Congaree River at Columbia crested at major flood stage 8 times among the 200 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1892 to 2025. The highest, 39.80 ft on August 27, 1908, was major flooding, 20.80 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
39.80 ft
August 27, 1908; 364,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
19.0 ft
Major flooding from 30.0 ft
Crests at major
8
11th of 79 gauges in South Carolina
Most recent flood crest
September 30, 2024
30.58 ft, major flooding
Location
Lexington County
Near West Columbia (2.8 mi), Cayce (3.0 mi), Forest Acres (5.2 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Congaree River at Columbia
Action stage10.088Feb 15, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)19.071Apr 30, 2023Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage24.029Jan 12, 2024Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage30.08Sep 30, 2024Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

200 crests from 1892 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Congaree River at Columbia, 1892 to 2025 010203040ft Flood stage 19.0 ftMajor 30.0 ft Jan 20, 1892: 28.60 ft, moderate floodingOct 24, 1893: 12.70 ft, action stageOct 10, 1894: 24.40 ft, moderate floodingFeb 7, 1895: 21.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 7, 1897: 25.50 ft, moderate floodingSep 25, 1898: 14.20 ft, action stageFeb 8, 1899: 25.70 ft, moderate floodingApr 22, 1900: 26.00 ft, moderate floodingApr 3, 1901: 27.00 ft, moderate floodingMar 2, 1902: 26.00 ft, moderate floodingJun 9, 1903: 27.20 ft, moderate flooding; 194,000 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1904: 16.20 ft, action stageFeb 22, 1905: 18.70 ft, action stageDec 22, 1905: 20.30 ft, minor flooding; 102,000 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 1906: 21.50 ft, minor floodingJun 3, 1907: 13.00 ft, action stageDec 24, 1907: 22.70 ft, minor floodingAug 27, 1908: 39.80 ft, major flooding; 364,000 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1909: 26.00 ft, moderate floodingMar 3, 1910: 17.80 ft, action stageDec 24, 1911: 23.20 ft, minor floodingMar 17, 1912: 30.70 ft, major flooding; 256,000 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1913: 23.20 ft, minor flooding; 135,000 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1913: 18.60 ft, action stageDec 27, 1914: 20.10 ft, minor floodingJan 8, 1915: 21.40 ft, minor floodingJul 17, 1916: 35.50 ft, major floodingMar 6, 1917: 21.80 ft, minor floodingJan 31, 1918: 16.20 ft, action stageOct 28, 1918: 20.70 ft, minor flooding; 106,000 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 1919: 24.50 ft, moderate floodingAug 28, 1920: 19.50 ft, minor flooding; 94,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1921: 27.60 ft, moderate floodingFeb 17, 1922: 22.20 ft, minor flooding; 123,000 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1923: 21.70 ft, minor floodingJan 18, 1924: 19.60 ft, minor floodingOct 1, 1924: 25.00 ft, moderate floodingJan 20, 1925: 23.50 ft, minor flooding; 139,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1926: 17.00 ft, action stageFeb 25, 1927: 14.20 ft, action stageDec 4, 1927: 19.60 ft, minor floodingAug 18, 1928: 33.50 ft, major flooding; 311,000 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1929: 25.90 ft, moderate flooding; 173,000 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 1929: 33.10 ft, major flooding; 303,000 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1930: 11.10 ft, action stageDec 8, 1930: 11.70 ft, action stageDec 5, 1931: 15.90 ft, action stageJan 10, 1932: 20.70 ft, minor floodingOct 19, 1932: 21.50 ft, minor flooding; 115,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1933: 13.60 ft, action stageMar 29, 1934: 12.70 ft, action stageOct 12, 1934: 23.30 ft, minor floodingMar 14, 1935: 12.50 ft, action stageApr 8, 1936: 33.34 ft, major flooding; 231,000 cubic feet per secondOct 19, 1936: 20.56 ft, minor flooding; 70,900 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 1937: 20.40 ft, minor floodingOct 21, 1937: 18.42 ft, action stageJul 26, 1938: 14.90 ft, action stageMar 2, 1939: 19.93 ft, minor flooding; 66,400 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1940: 26.14 ft, moderate flooding; 121,000 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 1941: 17.10 ft, action stageJul 18, 1941: 17.19 ft, action stageFeb 19, 1942: 17.31 ft, action stageJan 20, 1943: 19.44 ft, minor flooding; 63,400 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1944: 24.57 ft, moderate flooding; 105,000 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1945: 24.30 ft, moderate floodingJan 9, 1946: 19.21 ft, minor flooding; 62,200 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1947: 19.42 ft, minor flooding; 63,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1948: 17.72 ft, action stageNov 30, 1948: 25.56 ft, moderate flooding; 116,000 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1949: 22.20 ft, minor floodingOct 8, 1949: 16.77 ft, action stageDec 9, 1950: 10.80 ft, action stageDec 23, 1951: 16.50 ft, action stageMar 6, 1952: 23.20 ft, minor flooding; 91,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1953: 15.28 ft, action stageJan 1, 1954: 19.70 ft, minor floodingJan 25, 1954: 19.66 ft, minor flooding; 65,200 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1955: 16.06 ft, action stageApr 1, 1956: 15.20 ft, action stageApr 18, 1956: 15.22 ft, action stageApr 7, 1957: 12.00 ft, action stageNov 21, 1957: 19.40 ft, minor floodingMay 1, 1958: 19.46 ft, minor flooding; 64,000 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1959: 12.60 ft, action stageOct 1, 1959: 19.68 ft, minor flooding; 65,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1960: 19.30 ft, minor floodingFeb 25, 1961: 21.08 ft, minor flooding; 74,400 cubic feet per secondJan 8, 1962: 19.69 ft, minor flooding; 65,200 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1963: 23.09 ft, minor flooding; 91,800 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1964: 28.60 ft, moderate flooding; 142,000 cubic feet per secondOct 18, 1964: 26.18 ft, moderate flooding; 120,000 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1965: 22.26 ft, minor floodingMar 6, 1966: 21.74 ft, minor flooding; 80,600 cubic feet per secondAug 25, 1967: 23.78 ft, minor flooding; 97,900 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1968: 18.81 ft, action stageApr 19, 1969: 23.37 ft, minor flooding; 94,200 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 1970: 15.44 ft, action stageMar 4, 1971: 21.55 ft, minor flooding; 79,100 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1972: 19.26 ft, minor flooding; 63,900 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1973: 23.99 ft, minor flooding; 99,800 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1974: 16.87 ft, action stageMar 16, 1975: 26.47 ft, moderate flooding; 122,000 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1976: 16.16 ft, action stageOct 11, 1976: 29.74 ft, moderate flooding; 155,000 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1977: 22.32 ft, minor floodingJan 28, 1978: 21.87 ft, minor flooding; 81,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1979: 23.46 ft, minor flooding; 94,500 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1980: 23.29 ft, minor flooding; 93,100 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 1980: 16.81 ft, action stageFeb 11, 1981: 12.72 ft, action stageJan 6, 1982: 22.20 ft, minor flooding; 84,200 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1983: 19.65 ft, minor flooding; 66,000 cubic feet per secondDec 7, 1983: 19.98 ft, minor floodingFeb 16, 1984: 20.30 ft, minor flooding; 703,000 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1984: 20.40 ft, minor floodingAug 19, 1985: 17.52 ft, action stageNov 23, 1985: 18.37 ft, action stageDec 26, 1986: 12.86 ft, action stageMar 3, 1987: 26.67 ft, moderate flooding; 123,000 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1988: 9.78 ft, below flood stageMar 25, 1989: 16.17 ft, action stageOct 3, 1989: 23.37 ft, minor flooding; 93,700 cubic feet per secondOct 15, 1990: 27.94 ft, moderate flooding; 135,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1991: 19.47 ft, minor floodingApr 23, 1992: 16.78 ft, action stageNov 28, 1992: 19.06 ft, minor floodingMar 26, 1993: 19.49 ft, minor flooding; 65,200 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1994: 20.59 ft, minor flooding; 72,300 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1995: 25.95 ft, moderate flooding; 116,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1996: 20.97 ft, minor flooding; 74,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1997: 16.69 ft, action stageFeb 5, 1998: 23.55 ft, minor flooding; 95,200 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 1999: 10.51 ft, action stageJan 26, 1999: 10.62 ft, action stageMar 22, 2000: 13.97 ft, action stageMar 31, 2001: 11.86 ft, action stageJan 22, 2002: 8.59 ft, below flood stageDec 20, 2002: 14.56 ft, action stageMar 22, 2003: 25.80 ft, moderate floodingApr 12, 2003: 20.30 ft, minor floodingApr 20, 2003: 20.80 ft, minor floodingMay 25, 2003: 23.15 ft, minor floodingSep 11, 2004: 23.88 ft, minor flooding; 98,023 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2005: 17.76 ft, action stageOct 10, 2005: 16.01 ft, action stageMar 4, 2007: 22.00 ft, minor flooding; 82,600 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 2009: 19.65 ft, minor flooding; 66,351 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 2010: 21.30 ft, minor flooding; 77,311 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2010: 21.79 ft, minor flooding; 80,995 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2013: 24.39 ft, moderate flooding; 102,164 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2015: 10.96 ft, action stage; 28,400 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 2015: 31.81 ft, major flooding; 185,243 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 2016: 26.01 ft, moderate floodingJan 8, 2016: 10.99 ft, action stage; 28,500 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 2016: 10.21 ft, action stage; 26,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2018: 11.27 ft, action stage; 29,366 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2018: 9.77 ft, below flood stage; 24,717 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2018: 13.93 ft, action stage; 38,998 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2018: 14.85 ft, action stage; 42,704 cubic feet per secondNov 17, 2018: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 62,352 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 2018: 17.13 ft, action stage; 52,864 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 2018: 17.91 ft, action stage; 56,664 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2019: 16.81 ft, action stage; 5,133 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 2019: 17.90 ft, action stage; 56,615 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2020: 15.36 ft, action stage; 44,852 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2020: 29.19 ft, moderate flooding; 148,799 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2020: 15.08 ft, action stage; 43,726 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2020: 11.60 ft, action stage; 30,547 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2020: 14.68 ft, action stage; 42,017 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2020: 10.58 ft, action stage; 27,600 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2020: 19.98 ft, minor flooding; 68,200 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 2020: 10.25 ft, action stage; 26,705 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2020: 12.32 ft, action stage; 33,036 cubic feet per secondNov 14, 2020: 20.18 ft, minor flooding; 69,600 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 2020: 11.63 ft, action stage; 30,772 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2020: 11.38 ft, action stage; 29,809 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 2021: 14.84 ft, action stage; 42,446 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2021: 14.92 ft, action stage; 42,858 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 2021: 18.57 ft, action stage; 60,093 cubic feet per secondOct 9, 2021: 9.23 ft, below flood stage; 23,593 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2022: 11.00 ft, action stage; 28,912 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2022: 10.76 ft, action stage; 28,206 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2022: 16.17 ft, action stage; 48,395 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 2022: 13.23 ft, action stage; 36,143 cubic feet per secondDec 17, 2022: 12.10 ft, action stage; 32,167 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 2022: 13.82 ft, action stage; 25,930 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2023: 18.16 ft, action stage; 57,851 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 2023: 12.19 ft, action stage; 32,435 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 2023: 12.34 ft, action stage; 32,946 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2023: 14.61 ft, action stage; 41,667 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 2023: 19.91 ft, minor flooding; 67,817 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2023: 13.79 ft, action stage; 38,356 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 2024: 25.66 ft, moderate flooding; 113,637 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 2024: 12.79 ft, action stage; 34,537 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 2024: 12.60 ft, action stage; 32,315 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 2024: 13.24 ft, action stage; 36,802 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 2024: 30.58 ft, major flooding; 155,531 cubic feet per secondDec 13, 2024: 11.46 ft, action stage; 30,271 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 2025: 13.55 ft, action stage; 38,006 cubic feet per second Highest, 39.80 ft, Aug 27, 1908 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Congaree River at Columbia 1890s: 5 1900s: 9 1910s: 9 1920s: 11 11 1930s: 7 1940s: 8 1950s: 6 1960s: 10 1970s: 8 1980s: 8 1990s: 8 2000s: 7 2010s: 6 2020s: 6 1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 200 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Congaree River at Columbia
1Aug 27, 190839.80+20.80Major364,000
2Jul 17, 191635.50+16.50Major—
3Aug 18, 192833.50+14.50Major311,000
4Apr 8, 193633.34+14.34Major231,000
5Oct 3, 192933.10+14.10Major303,000
6Oct 4, 201531.81+12.81Major185,243
7Mar 17, 191230.70+11.70Major256,000
8Sep 30, 202430.58+11.58Major155,531
9Oct 11, 197629.74+10.74Moderate155,000
10Feb 9, 202029.19+10.19Moderate148,799
11Jan 20, 189228.60+9.60Moderate—
12Apr 10, 196428.60+9.60Moderate142,000
13Oct 15, 199027.94+8.94Moderate135,000
14Feb 12, 192127.60+8.60Moderate—
15Jun 9, 190327.20+8.20Moderate194,000
16Apr 3, 190127.00+8.00Moderate—
17Mar 3, 198726.67+7.67Moderate123,000
18Mar 16, 197526.47+7.47Moderate122,000
19Oct 18, 196426.18+7.18Moderate120,000
20Aug 16, 194026.14+7.14Moderate121,000
21Jan 1, 201626.01+7.01Moderate—
22Apr 22, 190026.00+7.00Moderate—
23Mar 2, 190226.00+7.00Moderate—
24Jun 25, 190926.00+7.00Moderate—
25Jan 17, 199525.95+6.95Moderate116,000
26Mar 1, 192925.90+6.90Moderate173,000
27Mar 22, 200325.80+6.80Moderate—
28Feb 8, 189925.70+6.70Moderate—
29Jan 12, 202425.66+6.66Moderate113,637
30Nov 30, 194825.56+6.56Moderate116,000
31Feb 7, 189725.50+6.50Moderate—
32Oct 1, 192425.00+6.00Moderate—
33Mar 21, 194424.57+5.57Moderate105,000
34Jul 21, 191924.50+5.50Moderate—
35Oct 10, 189424.40+5.40Moderate—
36May 8, 201324.39+5.39Moderate102,164
37Sep 19, 194524.30+5.30Moderate—
38Apr 2, 197323.99+4.99Minor99,800
39Sep 11, 200423.88+4.88Minor98,023
40Aug 25, 196723.78+4.78Minor97,900
41Feb 5, 199823.55+4.55Minor95,200
42Jan 20, 192523.50+4.50Minor139,000
43Feb 26, 197923.46+4.46Minor94,500
44Apr 19, 196923.37+4.37Minor94,200
45Oct 3, 198923.37+4.37Minor93,700
46Oct 12, 193423.30+4.30Minor—
47Mar 30, 198023.29+4.29Minor93,100
48Dec 24, 191123.20+4.20Minor—
49Mar 16, 191323.20+4.20Minor135,000
50Mar 6, 195223.20+4.20Minor91,400

Gauges on the Congaree River

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

Flood gauges on the Congaree River
Carolina EastmanSC115.0126.95 ft, Oct 12, 19766
Columbia this gaugeSC19.039.80 ft, Aug 27, 19088
Congaree National ParkSC15.019.83 ft, Oct 5, 20150

Lexington County: every hazard · River floods across the country · South Carolina

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge COLS1, 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.