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Brazos River at Waco

Highest listed crest 40.90 ftFlood stage 19.0 ft48 crests since 1899

The Brazos River at Waco crested at major flood stage 15 times among the 48 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1899 to 2025. The highest, 40.90 ft on September 27, 1936, was major flooding, 21.90 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Brazos River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
40.90 ft
September 27, 1936; 246,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
19.0 ft
Major flooding from 27.0 ft
Crests at major
15
30th of 370 gauges in Texas
Most recent flood crest
June 12, 2025
20.87 ft, minor flooding
Location
McLennan County
Near Bellmead (4.6 mi), Robinson (6.5 mi), Waco (7.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Brazos River at Waco
Action stage10.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)19.020Jun 12, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage22.013May 31, 2024Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage27.015Apr 20, 1957Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

48 crests from 1899 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Brazos River at Waco, 1899 to 2025 1020304050ft Flood stage 19.0 ftMajor 27.0 ft Jun 30, 1899: 34.38 ft, major flooding; 117,000 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 1902: 32.10 ft, major flooding; 106,000 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1908: 33.00 ft, major floodingMay 25, 1908: 36.70 ft, major flooding; 142,000 cubic feet per secondDec 3, 1913: 39.70 ft, major flooding; 211,000 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1916: 33.80 ft, major flooding; 113,000 cubic feet per secondNov 9, 1918: 36.40 ft, major flooding; 125,000 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1922: 33.00 ft, major floodingMay 10, 1922: 35.90 ft, major flooding; 122,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1935: 34.90 ft, major flooding; 112,000 cubic feet per secondSep 27, 1936: 40.90 ft, major flooding; 246,000 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1942: 35.70 ft, major flooding; 126,000 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1944: 36.60 ft, major flooding; 137,000 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1945: 36.70 ft, major flooding; 144,000 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1957: 32.30 ft, major flooding; 65,500 cubic feet per secondOct 31, 1974: 25.32 ft, moderate flooding; 40,000 cubic feet per secondNov 5, 1974: 25.32 ft, moderate flooding; 8,400 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1977: 23.49 ft, moderate flooding; 33,700 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1990: 24.35 ft, moderate flooding; 40,800 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 1991: 26.50 ft, moderate flooding; 50,000 cubic feet per secondOct 26, 2009: 21.64 ft, minor flooding; 27,200 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 2010: 19.91 ft, minor flooding; 28,700 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2012: 21.92 ft, minor flooding; 29,600 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2015: 19.67 ft, minor flooding; 24,600 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2015: 20.03 ft, minor flooding; 25,300 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2015: 20.54 ft, minor flooding; 26,500 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 2015: 19.23 ft, minor flooding; 23,700 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2015: 22.48 ft, moderate flooding; 30,800 cubic feet per secondOct 25, 2015: 25.22 ft, moderate flooding; 37,000 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 2015: 21.76 ft, minor flooding; 29,300 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 2016: 19.31 ft, minor flooding; 24,100 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2016: 19.50 ft, minor flooding; 24,500 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2016: 23.54 ft, moderate flooding; 33,200 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 2016: 21.12 ft, minor flooding; 27,900 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 2017: 21.04 ft, minor flooding; 27,700 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 2018: 22.08 ft, moderate flooding; 31,300 cubic feet per secondOct 25, 2018: 21.97 ft, minor flooding; 31,100 cubic feet per secondNov 8, 2018: 19.80 ft, minor flooding; 26,400 cubic feet per secondNov 12, 2018: 22.08 ft, moderate flooding; 31,300 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 2019: 20.42 ft, minor flooding; 27,700 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2019: 21.17 ft, minor flooding; 28,000 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2020: 22.37 ft, moderate flooding; 30,600 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 2020: 19.29 ft, minor flooding; 24,000 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2021: 19.57 ft, minor flooding; 24,700 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2021: 20.76 ft, minor flooding; 27,100 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 2024: 22.37 ft, moderate flooding; 30,600 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2024: 24.93 ft, moderate flooding; 36,200 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2025: 20.87 ft, minor flooding; 28,142 cubic feet per second Highest, 40.90 ft, Sep 27, 1936 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Brazos River at Waco 1890s: 1 1900s: 3 1910s: 3 1920s: 2 1930s: 2 1940s: 3 1950s: 1 1960s: 0 1970s: 3 1980s: 0 1990s: 2 2000s: 1 2010s: 20 20 2020s: 7 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

Highest listed crests, Brazos River at Waco
1Sep 27, 193640.90+21.90Major246,000
2Dec 3, 191339.70+20.70Major211,000
3May 25, 190836.70+17.70Major142,000
4Apr 22, 194536.70+17.70Major144,000
5May 2, 194436.60+17.60Major137,000
6Nov 9, 191836.40+17.40Major125,000
7May 10, 192235.90+16.90Major122,000
8Apr 25, 194235.70+16.70Major126,000
9May 19, 193534.90+15.90Major112,000
10Jun 30, 189934.38+15.38Major117,000
11Apr 2, 191633.80+14.80Major113,000
12Apr 19, 190833.00+14.00Major—
13Apr 4, 192233.00+14.00Major—
14Apr 20, 195732.30+13.30Major65,500
15Jul 26, 190232.10+13.10Major106,000
16Dec 21, 199126.50+7.50Moderate50,000
17Oct 31, 197425.32+6.32Moderate40,000
18Nov 5, 197425.32+6.32Moderate8,400
19Oct 25, 201525.22+6.22Moderate37,000
20May 31, 202424.93+5.93Moderate36,200
21May 12, 199024.35+5.35Moderate40,800
22Jun 13, 201623.54+4.54Moderate33,200
23Apr 20, 197723.49+4.49Moderate33,700
24Jun 27, 201522.48+3.48Moderate30,800
25Mar 22, 202022.37+3.37Moderate30,600
26May 5, 202422.37+3.37Moderate30,600
27Oct 20, 201822.08+3.08Moderate31,300
28Nov 12, 201822.08+3.08Moderate31,300
29Oct 25, 201821.97+2.97Minor31,100
30Mar 20, 201221.92+2.92Minor29,600
31Dec 4, 201521.76+2.76Minor29,300
32Oct 26, 200921.64+2.64Minor27,200
33Jun 7, 201921.17+2.17Minor28,000
34Jun 21, 201621.12+2.12Minor27,900
35Apr 12, 201721.04+2.04Minor27,700
36Jun 12, 202520.87+1.87Minor28,142
37Jun 12, 202120.76+1.76Minor27,100
38Jun 12, 201520.54+1.54Minor26,500
39Jan 3, 201920.42+1.42Minor27,700
40Jun 6, 201520.03+1.03Minor25,300
41Sep 9, 201019.91+0.91Minor28,700
42Nov 8, 201819.80+0.80Minor26,400
43May 26, 201519.67+0.67Minor24,600
44Jun 1, 202119.57+0.57Minor24,700
45May 14, 201619.50+0.50Minor24,500
46May 4, 201619.31+0.31Minor24,100
47Mar 26, 202019.29+0.29Minor24,000
48Jun 17, 201519.23+0.23Minor23,700

The worst floods along the Brazos River

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

September 27, 1936: 40.90 ft here, major flooding

  • SeymourTX · Sep 23, 1936 · 12.58 ft · Minor

December 3, 1913: 39.70 ft here, major flooding

  • HempsteadTX · Dec 8, 1913 · 66.10 ft · Major · its highest
  • HighbankTX · Dec 1, 1913 · 42.00 ft · Major · its highest

April 22, 1945: 36.70 ft here, major flooding

  • RichmondTX · Apr 27, 1945 · 45.60 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Brazos River

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

Flood gauges on the Brazos River
Lubbock 4ESETX11.014.99 ft, Sep 15, 20230
JusticeburgTX19.025.80 ft, Jan 1, 19140
Aspermont 10STX21.029.50 ft, Sep 26, 19550
SeymourTX12.023.00 ft, Sep 28, 19551
South BendTX21.041.50 ft, Aug 6, 19784
Palo PintoTX16.030.00 ft, Jun 16, 19306
DennisTX21.031.88 ft, Oct 14, 19816
Glen RoseTX29.035.76 ft, Apr 28, 19904
AquillaTX29.045.00 ft, May 9, 19221
Waco this gaugeTX19.040.90 ft, Sep 27, 193615
HighbankTX35.042.00 ft, Dec 1, 19132
HempsteadTX50.066.10 ft, Dec 8, 19132
San FelipeTX122.5129.00 ft, Aug 29, 20170
RichmondTX45.055.19 ft, Sep 1, 20176
US 59TX66.567.69 ft, May 12, 20240
RosharonTX43.052.65 ft, Aug 29, 20177
West ColumbiaTX26.030.73 ft, Sep 3, 20173

Other gauges in McLennan County

Flood gauges in McLennan County
Crawford14.017.50 ft, Sep 26, 19361
McGregor20.028.50 ft, Jan 1, 19895

McLennan County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Texas

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WBAT2, 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.