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Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville

Highest listed crest 31.48 ftFlood stage 27.0 ft79 crests since 1945

The Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville crested at major flood stage 6 times among the 79 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1945 to 2025. The highest, 31.48 ft on October 8, 1945, was major flooding, 4.48 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
31.48 ft
October 8, 1945; 31,700 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
27.0 ft
Major flooding from 29.0 ft
Crests at major
6
111th of 370 gauges in Texas
Most recent flood crest
July 14, 1981
27.50 ft, minor flooding
Location
Cameron County
Near Brownsville (8.0 mi)
Identifiers
NWS LOBT2
No USGS station

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville
Action stage24.018Apr 1, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)27.04Jul 14, 1981Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage28.04Sep 1, 1976Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage29.06Oct 1, 1973Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

79 crests from 1945 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville, 1945 to 2025 101520253035ft Flood stage 27.0 ftMajor 29.0 ft Oct 8, 1945: 31.48 ft, major flooding; 31,700 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1954: 20.76 ft, below flood stage; 6,070 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1954: 16.61 ft, below flood stage; 3,000 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1971: 15.49 ft, below flood stage; 3,220 cubic feet per secondOct 19, 1971: 30.77 ft, major flooding; 16,300 cubic feet per secondNov 1, 1971: 27.26 ft, minor flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondDec 14, 1971: 21.86 ft, below flood stage; 6,040 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1972: 18.02 ft, below flood stage; 4,200 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1972: 22.01 ft, below flood stage; 6,510 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1973: 15.21 ft, below flood stage; 3,100 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1973: 29.30 ft, major flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1973: 31.43 ft, major flooding; 15,600 cubic feet per secondSep 24, 1973: 30.01 ft, major flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1973: 29.59 ft, major flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondNov 1, 1973: 16.53 ft, below flood stage; 3,620 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 1974: 26.47 ft, action stage; 11,600 cubic feet per secondOct 8, 1974: 26.77 ft, action stage; 11,800 cubic feet per secondNov 1, 1974: 21.78 ft, below flood stage; 7,060 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1974: 14.40 ft, below flood stage; 3,170 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1975: 21.91 ft, below flood stage; 7,250 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 1975: 27.81 ft, minor flooding; 12,600 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1975: 28.19 ft, moderate flooding; 13,100 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1975: 23.15 ft, below flood stageMay 3, 1976: 15.63 ft, below flood stage; 3,560 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1976: 28.22 ft, moderate flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1976: 28.88 ft, moderate flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 1976: 28.87 ft, moderate flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondOct 5, 1976: 26.48 ft, action stage; 11,300 cubic feet per secondDec 1, 1976: 24.06 ft, action stage; 9,140 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1977: 20.96 ft, below flood stage; 6,910 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 1977: 19.24 ft, below flood stage; 5,810 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1977: 15.72 ft, below flood stage; 3,690 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1977: 22.79 ft, below flood stage; 7,930 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1977: 22.69 ft, below flood stage; 7,740 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1977: 19.35 ft, below flood stage; 5,400 cubic feet per secondSep 5, 1977: 14.69 ft, below flood stage; 3,150 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1979: 18.86 ft, below flood stage; 5,230 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1979: 15.17 ft, below flood stage; 3,380 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1979: 17.48 ft, below flood stage; 4,440 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1979: 18.56 ft, below flood stage; 5,020 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1979: 26.73 ft, action stage; 11,500 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1979: 23.72 ft, below flood stage; 8,570 cubic feet per secondSep 16, 1979: 15.17 ft, below flood stage; 3,970 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1980: 17.59 ft, below flood stage; 4,410 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1981: 25.52 ft, action stage; 10,300 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1981: 27.20 ft, minor flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1981: 27.50 ft, minor flooding; 11,700 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1981: 20.47 ft, below flood stage; 6,430 cubic feet per secondOct 30, 1981: 21.33 ft, below flood stage; 6,570 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1982: 19.59 ft, below flood stage; 5,720 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1983: 25.56 ft, action stage; 10,300 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1984: 16.75 ft, below flood stage; 4,550 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1985: 22.53 ft, below flood stage; 7,060 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1985: 13.90 ft, below flood stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1986: 16.83 ft, below flood stage; 4,220 cubic feet per secondSep 16, 1987: 17.56 ft, below flood stage; 4,110 cubic feet per secondOct 12, 1987: 16.73 ft, below flood stage; 3,630 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 1988: 25.20 ft, action stage; 8,150 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 1988: 26.12 ft, action stageNov 9, 1988: 24.01 ft, action stage; 7,200 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1989: 14.42 ft, below flood stage; 3,090 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1991: 16.96 ft, below flood stage; 4,483 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1991: 17.16 ft, below flood stage; 3,989 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1992: 19.65 ft, below flood stage; 4,836 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1992: 20.21 ft, below flood stage; 4,977 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1992: 23.69 ft, below flood stage; 6,495 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1992: 25.59 ft, action stage; 7,943 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1993: 22.01 ft, below flood stage; 5,754 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1994: 10.83 ft, below flood stage; 1,645 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1995: 10.99 ft, below flood stage; 1,744 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1995: 14.27 ft, below flood stage; 2,863 cubic feet per secondOct 15, 2008: 22.54 ft, below flood stageJul 29, 2010: 25.50 ft, action stage; 7,387 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 2010: 25.62 ft, action stage; 7,450 cubic feet per secondSep 15, 2010: 25.93 ft, action stage; 7,614 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 2010: 25.79 ft, action stage; 7,540 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2015: 24.19 ft, action stage; 6,574 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 2020: 24.41 ft, action stage; 6,097 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 2025: 24.71 ft, action stage Highest, 31.48 ft, Oct 8, 1945 1960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville 1940s: 1 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 11 11 1980s: 2 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 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.
  3. 1 crest measured on an earlier gauge datum is left out: 23.30 ft on Jul 27, 2005.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 79 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Rio Grande at Lower Brownsville
1Oct 8, 194531.48+4.48Major31,700
2Jul 6, 197331.43+4.43Major15,600
3Oct 19, 197130.77+3.77Major16,300
4Sep 24, 197330.01+3.01Major14,400
5Oct 1, 197329.59+2.59Major14,000
6Jun 30, 197329.30+2.30Major13,000
7Aug 28, 197628.88+1.88Moderate14,000
8Sep 1, 197628.87+1.87Moderate14,000
9Jul 31, 197628.22+1.22Moderate12,800
10Sep 19, 197528.19+1.19Moderate13,100
11Aug 24, 197527.81+0.81Minor12,600
12Jul 14, 198127.50+0.50Minor11,700
13Nov 1, 197127.26+0.26Minor11,500
14Jun 30, 198127.20+0.20Minor11,500
15Oct 8, 197426.77−0.23Action11,800
16Jun 19, 197926.73−0.27Action11,500
17Oct 5, 197626.48−0.52Action11,300
18Sep 20, 197426.47−0.53Action11,600
19Oct 4, 198826.12−0.88Action—
20Sep 15, 201025.93−1.07Action7,614
21Sep 21, 201025.79−1.21Action7,540
22Aug 4, 201025.62−1.38Action7,450
23Jun 2, 199225.59−1.41Action7,943
24Mar 1, 198325.56−1.44Action10,300
25May 12, 198125.52−1.48Action10,300
26Jul 29, 201025.50−1.50Action7,387
27Sep 28, 198825.20−1.80Action8,150
28Apr 1, 202524.71−2.29Action—
29Aug 3, 202024.41−2.59Action6,097
30Jun 6, 201524.19−2.81Action6,574
31Dec 1, 197624.06−2.94Action9,140
32Nov 9, 198824.01−2.99Action7,200
33Jul 1, 197923.72−3.28Below flood stage8,570
34Apr 30, 199223.69−3.31Below flood stage6,495
35Oct 1, 197523.15−3.85Below flood stage—
36Apr 25, 197722.79−4.21Below flood stage7,930
37May 3, 197722.69−4.31Below flood stage7,740
38Oct 15, 200822.54−4.46Below flood stage—
39May 17, 198522.53−4.47Below flood stage7,060
40Oct 1, 197222.01−4.99Below flood stage6,510
41Jun 25, 199322.01−4.99Below flood stage5,754
42Jul 31, 197521.91−5.09Below flood stage7,250
43Dec 14, 197121.86−5.14Below flood stage6,040
44Nov 1, 197421.78−5.22Below flood stage7,060
45Oct 30, 198121.33−5.67Below flood stage6,570
46Jan 10, 197720.96−6.04Below flood stage6,910
47Apr 12, 195420.76−6.24Below flood stage6,070
48Sep 14, 198120.47−6.53Below flood stage6,430
49Mar 6, 199220.21−6.79Below flood stage4,977
50Feb 26, 199219.65−7.35Below flood stage4,836

The worst floods along the Rio Grande

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

October 1, 1973: 29.59 ft here, major flooding

  • LaredoTX · Oct 7, 1973 · 17.59 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Rio Grande

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

Flood gauges on the Rio Grande
Columbia BridgeTX18.049.42 ft, Jul 8, 20102
Falcon LakeTX301.2309.31 ft, Jul 17, 20100
LaredoTX8.061.35 ft, Jun 30, 19547
Lower Brownsville this gaugeTX27.031.48 ft, Oct 8, 19456
Rio Grande CityTX50.065.78 ft, Sep 27, 19723
San BenitoTX55.061.06 ft, Sep 29, 19671

Other gauges in Cameron County

Flood gauges in Cameron County
San Benito55.061.06 ft, Sep 29, 19671

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LOBT2, 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.