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Neches River near Alto

Highest listed crest 22.60 ftFlood stage 16.0 ft51 crests since 1922

The Neches River near Alto crested at major flood stage 11 times among the 51 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1922 to 2021. The highest, 22.60 ft on March 15, 2016, was major flooding, 6.60 feet above flood stage. 7 other gauges on the Neches River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
22.60 ft
March 15, 2016; 23,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
16.0 ft
Major flooding from 20.0 ft
Crests at major
11
51st of 370 gauges in Texas
Most recent flood crest
June 1, 2021
20.30 ft, major flooding
Location
Houston County
Texas

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Neches River near Alto
Action stage15.50—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)16.019Dec 21, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage18.021Apr 24, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage20.011Jun 1, 2021Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

51 crests from 1922 to 2021. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Neches River near Alto, 1922 to 2021 1618202224ft Flood stage 16.0 ftMajor 20.0 ft Mar 15, 1922: 21.10 ft, major floodingNov 25, 1940: 22.40 ft, major floodingFeb 10, 1946: 18.46 ft, moderate flooding; 8,400 cubic feet per secondNov 13, 1946: 18.79 ft, moderate flooding; 9,480 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1948: 17.15 ft, minor flooding; 4,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1950: 19.72 ft, moderate flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1952: 17.44 ft, minor flooding; 5,280 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1953: 22.54 ft, major flooding; 22,900 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1954: 17.28 ft, minor flooding; 3,560 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1958: 22.09 ft, major flooding; 19,300 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1959: 19.26 ft, moderate flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1960: 20.71 ft, major flooding; 16,800 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1962: 18.20 ft, moderate flooding; 6,220 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1965: 19.13 ft, moderate flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1968: 21.88 ft, major flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1969: 18.94 ft, moderate flooding; 9,400 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1970: 17.20 ft, minor flooding; 3,660 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1973: 19.15 ft, moderate flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1974: 18.79 ft, moderate flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1975: 17.99 ft, minor flooding; 6,260 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1976: 17.60 ft, minor flooding; 5,140 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1977: 18.27 ft, moderate flooding; 7,190 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1997: 18.10 ft, moderate floodingMar 4, 2001: 19.10 ft, moderate floodingJul 15, 2007: 21.10 ft, major floodingFeb 16, 2010: 17.00 ft, minor floodingJun 20, 2010: 17.00 ft, minor floodingMar 12, 2012: 16.50 ft, minor floodingMar 24, 2012: 16.50 ft, minor floodingNov 1, 2013: 16.80 ft, minor floodingMar 13, 2015: 18.50 ft, moderate flooding; 8,330 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 2015: 19.50 ft, moderate flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondNov 16, 2015: 17.00 ft, minor flooding; 3,900 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 2015: 19.30 ft, moderate flooding; 9,600 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 2016: 20.30 ft, major flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2016: 22.60 ft, major flooding; 23,500 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 2016: 19.20 ft, moderate flooding; 9,240 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 2016: 18.50 ft, moderate flooding; 7,050 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 2017: 17.13 ft, minor flooding; 4,060 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2017: 17.10 ft, minor flooding; 4,020 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2017: 17.96 ft, minor flooding; 5,680 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2018: 17.49 ft, minor flooding; 4,670 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2018: 17.78 ft, minor flooding; 5,260 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 2018: 16.03 ft, minor flooding; 2,900 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 2018: 18.23 ft, moderate flooding; 6,350 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 2018: 16.82 ft, minor flooding; 3,600 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2019: 19.13 ft, moderate flooding; 8,970 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2019: 22.03 ft, major flooding; 21,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2020: 18.44 ft, moderate flooding; 6,900 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2020: 18.33 ft, moderate flooding; 6,600 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2021: 20.30 ft, major flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per second Highest, 22.60 ft, Mar 15, 2016 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Neches River near Alto 1920s: 1 1930s: 0 1940s: 4 1950s: 6 1960s: 5 1970s: 6 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 2 2010s: 23 23 2020s: 3 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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.
  3. 6 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 28.20 ft on May 1, 1884; 24.20 ft on May 1, 1935; 24.46 ft on May 7, 1944; 26.82 ft on Apr 4, 1945; 22.92 ft on May 1, 1957; 23.44 ft on Apr 30, 1966.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 51 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Neches River near Alto
1Mar 15, 201622.60+6.60Major23,500
2May 17, 195322.54+6.54Major22,900
3Nov 25, 194022.40+6.40Major—
4May 6, 195822.09+6.09Major19,300
5May 20, 201922.03+6.03Major21,100
6May 17, 196821.88+5.88Major21,200
7Mar 15, 192221.10+5.10Major—
8Jul 15, 200721.10+5.10Major—
9Dec 15, 196020.71+4.71Major16,800
10Jan 3, 201620.30+4.30Major13,900
11Jun 1, 202120.30+4.30Major13,900
12Feb 19, 195019.72+3.72Moderate11,600
13Jun 3, 201519.50+3.50Moderate11,800
14Dec 23, 201519.30+3.30Moderate9,600
15May 6, 195919.26+3.26Moderate11,900
16May 4, 201619.20+3.20Moderate9,240
17Jun 12, 197319.15+3.15Moderate10,300
18May 18, 196519.13+3.13Moderate11,200
19Jan 5, 201919.13+3.13Moderate8,970
20Mar 4, 200119.10+3.10Moderate—
21Apr 14, 196918.94+2.94Moderate9,400
22Nov 13, 194618.79+2.79Moderate9,480
23Jan 29, 197418.79+2.79Moderate10,100
24Mar 13, 201518.50+2.50Moderate8,330
25Jun 17, 201618.50+2.50Moderate7,050
26Feb 10, 194618.46+2.46Moderate8,400
27Feb 24, 202018.44+2.44Moderate6,900
28Apr 24, 202018.33+2.33Moderate6,600
29Apr 22, 197718.27+2.27Moderate7,190
30Dec 9, 201818.23+2.23Moderate6,350
31May 1, 196218.20+2.20Moderate6,220
32Mar 4, 199718.10+2.10Moderate—
33Feb 10, 197517.99+1.99Minor6,260
34May 29, 201717.96+1.96Minor5,680
35Mar 30, 201817.78+1.78Minor5,260
36May 1, 197617.60+1.60Minor5,140
37Mar 5, 201817.49+1.49Minor4,670
38May 4, 195217.44+1.44Minor5,280
39May 23, 195417.28+1.28Minor3,560
40Mar 19, 197017.20+1.20Minor3,660
41May 23, 194817.15+1.15Minor4,700
42Apr 3, 201717.13+1.13Minor4,060
43May 24, 201717.10+1.10Minor4,020
44Feb 16, 201017.00+1.00Minor—
45Jun 20, 201017.00+1.00Minor—
46Nov 16, 201517.00+1.00Minor3,900
47Dec 21, 201816.82+0.82Minor3,600
48Nov 1, 201316.80+0.80Minor—
49Mar 12, 201216.50+0.50Minor—
50Mar 24, 201216.50+0.50Minor—

The worst floods along the Neches River

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

March 15, 2016: 22.60 ft here, major flooding

  • Saltwater BarrierTX · Mar 15, 2016 · 9.84 ft · Major
  • Town BluffTX · Mar 11, 2016 · 76.12 ft · Moderate
  • NechesTX · Mar 11, 2016 · 19.24 ft · Moderate
  • BeaumontTX · Mar 13, 2016 · 7.50 ft · Moderate
  • RocklandTX · Mar 14, 2016 · 26.79 ft · Minor
  • EvadaleTX · Mar 14, 2016 · 19.57 ft · Minor
  • DibollTX · Mar 19, 2016 · 15.82 ft · Minor

May 17, 1953: 22.54 ft here, major flooding

  • Town BluffTX · May 21, 1953 · 82.85 ft · Major
  • RocklandTX · May 20, 1953 · 30.70 ft · Moderate
  • EvadaleTX · May 24, 1953 · 22.53 ft · Moderate
  • NechesTX · May 19, 1953 · 17.40 ft · Minor
  • DibollTX · May 19, 1953 · 16.35 ft · Minor

November 25, 1940: 22.40 ft here, major flooding

  • RocklandTX · Nov 30, 1940 · 32.59 ft · Moderate
  • DibollTX · Nov 28, 1940 · 16.53 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Neches River

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

Flood gauges on the Neches River
BeaumontTX4.019.59 ft, Sep 1, 20175
Downtown BeaumontTX4.017.00 ft, Sep 2, 20171
EvadaleTX16.026.20 ft, May 1, 18843
RocklandTX26.038.00 ft, May 1, 18847
Saltwater BarrierTX4.021.56 ft, Sep 1, 201711
Alto this gaugeTX16.022.60 ft, Mar 15, 201611
DibollTX12.021.00 ft, May 7, 18841
NechesTX12.025.00 ft, May 3, 18842
Town BluffTX68.086.80 ft, May 1, 18844

Other gauges in Houston County

Flood gauges in Houston County
Crockett41.048.54 ft, May 10, 19902

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ATOT2, 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.