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Cow Bayou near Mauriceville

Highest listed crest 26.85 ftFlood stage 17.0 ft56 crests since 1953

The Cow Bayou near Mauriceville crested at major flood stage 5 times among the 56 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1953 to 2020. The highest, 26.85 ft on August 30, 2017, was major flooding, 9.85 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Cow Bayou crested above flood stage within a week of it, 2 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
26.85 ft
August 30, 2017; 26,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
17.0 ft
Major flooding from 20.0 ft
Crests at major
5
132nd of 370 gauges in Texas
Most recent flood crest
May 15, 2020
17.59 ft, minor flooding
Location
Orange County
Near Orange (10.2 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Cow Bayou near Mauriceville
Action stage16.07Oct 30, 2009The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)17.010May 15, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage18.08Mar 29, 2018Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage20.05Sep 20, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

56 crests from 1953 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Cow Bayou near Mauriceville, 1953 to 2020 51015202530ft Flood stage 17.0 ftMajor 20.0 ft May 19, 1953: 14.15 ft, below flood stage; 1,950 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1954: 8.70 ft, below flood stage; 659 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1955: 10.72 ft, below flood stage; 962 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1956: 11.20 ft, below flood stage; 1,050 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 1956: 13.80 ft, below flood stage; 1,700 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 1958: 16.71 ft, action stage; 4,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1959: 14.68 ft, below flood stage; 2,440 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1960: 8.47 ft, below flood stage; 617 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1961: 15.56 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1961: 10.64 ft, below flood stage; 895 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1963: 18.15 ft, moderate flooding; 4,600 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1964: 8.64 ft, below flood stage; 644 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1965: 7.94 ft, below flood stage; 632 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1966: 11.76 ft, below flood stage; 1,140 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1967: 13.55 ft, below flood stage; 1,620 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1968: 16.27 ft, action stage; 2,350 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1969: 13.60 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1970: 5.54 ft, below flood stage; 238 cubic feet per secondOct 28, 1970: 18.16 ft, moderate flooding; 4,420 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 1971: 12.52 ft, below flood stage; 998 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1973: 14.12 ft, below flood stage; 1,300 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1974: 13.87 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1975: 15.77 ft, below flood stage; 2,060 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1976: 13.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,120 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1976: 10.72 ft, below flood stage; 787 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1978: 13.56 ft, below flood stage; 1,240 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1979: 16.92 ft, action stage; 3,790 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1980: 15.99 ft, below flood stage; 2,220 cubic feet per secondOct 19, 1980: 13.16 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1982: 12.93 ft, below flood stage; 1,100 cubic feet per secondDec 28, 1982: 16.98 ft, action stage; 3,010 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1984: 11.27 ft, below flood stage; 829 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1985: 17.55 ft, minor flooding; 971 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1986: 17.80 ft, minor flooding; 1,500 cubic feet per secondOct 30, 2002: 21.90 ft, major flooding; 3,003 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2004: 17.63 ft, minor flooding; 1,230 cubic feet per secondSep 24, 2005: 17.91 ft, minor flooding; 1,280 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2006: 17.99 ft, minor flooding; 1,300 cubic feet per secondOct 17, 2006: 17.75 ft, minor flooding; 1,510 cubic feet per secondOct 29, 2006: 22.53 ft, major flooding; 4,240 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2007: 16.29 ft, action stage; 1,240 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 2008: 16.63 ft, action stage; 1,170 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2009: 17.44 ft, minor flooding; 1,340 cubic feet per secondOct 30, 2009: 16.94 ft, action stage; 1,230 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 2012: 18.57 ft, moderate flooding; 1,439 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 2013: 17.88 ft, minor flooding; 1,277 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2013: 17.90 ft, minor flooding; 1,280 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2014: 18.02 ft, moderate flooding; 1,304 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 2015: 19.79 ft, moderate flooding; 1,882 cubic feet per secondNov 4, 2015: 19.76 ft, moderate flooding; 1,869 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2016: 19.29 ft, moderate flooding; 1,666 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2016: 20.25 ft, major flooding; 2,785 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 2017: 26.85 ft, major flooding; 26,500 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2018: 19.16 ft, moderate floodingSep 20, 2019: 24.06 ft, major floodingMay 15, 2020: 17.59 ft, minor flooding; 1,232 cubic feet per second Highest, 26.85 ft, Aug 30, 2017 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cow Bayou near Mauriceville 1950s: 0 1960s: 1 1970s: 1 1980s: 2 1990s: 0 2000s: 7 2010s: 11 11 2020s: 1 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 56 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Cow Bayou near Mauriceville
1Aug 30, 201726.85+9.85Major26,500
2Sep 20, 201924.06+7.06Major—
3Oct 29, 200622.53+5.53Major4,240
4Oct 30, 200221.90+4.90Major3,003
5Jun 5, 201620.25+3.25Major2,785
6Jun 21, 201519.79+2.79Moderate1,882
7Nov 4, 201519.76+2.76Moderate1,869
8Mar 13, 201619.29+2.29Moderate1,666
9Mar 29, 201819.16+2.16Moderate—
10Mar 21, 201218.57+1.57Moderate1,439
11Oct 28, 197018.16+1.16Moderate4,420
12Sep 19, 196318.15+1.15Moderate4,600
13Jul 18, 201418.02+1.02Moderate1,304
14Jun 19, 200617.99+0.99Minor1,300
15Sep 24, 200517.91+0.91Minor1,280
16May 13, 201317.90+0.90Minor1,280
17Jan 10, 201317.88+0.88Minor1,277
18Jun 10, 198617.80+0.80Minor1,500
19Oct 17, 200617.75+0.75Minor1,510
20May 14, 200417.63+0.63Minor1,230
21May 15, 202017.59+0.59Minor1,232
22Feb 27, 198517.55+0.55Minor971
23Apr 19, 200917.44+0.44Minor1,340
24Dec 28, 198216.98−0.02Action3,010
25Oct 30, 200916.94−0.06Action1,230
26Apr 22, 197916.92−0.08Action3,790
27Sep 23, 195816.71−0.29Action4,300
28Sep 17, 200816.63−0.37Action1,170
29Jan 5, 200716.29−0.71Action1,240
30Jun 25, 196816.27−0.73Action2,350
31May 19, 198015.99−1.01Below flood stage2,220
32Jun 10, 197515.77−1.23Below flood stage2,060
33Jan 9, 196115.56−1.44Below flood stage2,900
34Feb 4, 195914.68−2.32Below flood stage2,440
35May 19, 195314.15−2.85Below flood stage1,950
36Apr 20, 197314.12−2.88Below flood stage1,300
37Jan 22, 197413.87−3.13Below flood stage1,250
38Dec 24, 195613.80−3.20Below flood stage1,700
39Feb 24, 196913.60−3.40Below flood stage1,400
40Jun 28, 197813.56−3.44Below flood stage1,240
41Apr 17, 196713.55−3.45Below flood stage1,620
42Oct 19, 198013.16−3.84Below flood stage1,150
43Mar 10, 197613.00−4.00Below flood stage1,120
44May 14, 198212.93−4.07Below flood stage1,100
45Dec 8, 197112.52−4.48Below flood stage998
46May 13, 196611.76−5.24Below flood stage1,140
47May 20, 198411.27−5.73Below flood stage829
48Feb 9, 195611.20−5.80Below flood stage1,050
49Feb 9, 195510.72−6.28Below flood stage962
50Dec 15, 197610.72−6.28Below flood stage787

The worst floods along the Cow Bayou

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

August 30, 2017: 26.85 ft here, major flooding

  • FM 1442TX · Sep 3, 2017 · 16.53 ft · Major · its highest
  • SH 87TX · Sep 3, 2017 · 7.72 ft · Major · its highest

September 20, 2019: 24.06 ft here, major flooding

  • FM 1442TX · Sep 20, 2019 · 14.91 ft · Major
  • SH 87TX · Sep 20, 2019 · 4.36 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Cow Bayou

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

Flood gauges on the Cow Bayou
Mauriceville this gaugeTX17.026.85 ft, Aug 30, 20175
FM 1442TX6.016.53 ft, Sep 3, 20172
SH 87TX4.07.72 ft, Sep 3, 20171

Other gauges in Orange County

Flood gauges in Orange County
FM 32476.013.30 ft, Sep 1, 20172
SH 874.09.50 ft, Sep 1, 20171
I-1010.012.06 ft, Dec 8, 20180
FM 14426.016.53 ft, Sep 3, 20172
SH 874.07.72 ft, Sep 3, 20171
Saltwater Barrier4.021.56 ft, Sep 1, 201711
I-103.03.37 ft, Sep 23, 20200
International Paper7.07.67 ft, Apr 30, 20200
Orange4.07.83 ft, Sep 3, 20173

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MCVT2, 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.