Rio Grande at Rio Grande City

Highest listed crest 65.78 ftFlood stage 50.0 ft4 crests since 1972

The Rio Grande at Rio Grande City crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 4 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1972 to 2020. The highest, 65.78 ft on September 27, 1972, was major flooding, 15.78 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 65.78 ft; September 27, 1972
Flood stage: 50.0 ft; Major flooding from 53.0 ft
Crests at major: 3; 187th of 370 gauges in Texas
Most recent flood crest: July 16, 2010; 57.31 ft, major flooding
Location: Starr County; Near Rio Grande City (1.5 mi), Roma (12.9 mi)
Identifiers: NWS RGDT2; 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 Rio Grande City

Action stage	48.0	0	—	The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)	50.0	0	—	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	51.0	0	—	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	53.0	3	Jul 16, 2010	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

4 crests from 1972 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

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.
Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
26 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 32.34 ft on Sep 29, 1967; 4.96 ft on May 2, 1970; 25.29 ft on Sep 20, 1971; 19.28 ft on Jun 28, 1973; 6.20 ft on Sep 24, 1974; 6.23 ft on Sep 4, 1975; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Rio Grande at Rio Grande City

1	Sep 27, 1972	65.78	+15.78	Major	—
2	Jul 11, 2010	57.63	+7.63	Major	111,518
3	Jul 16, 2010	57.31	+7.31	Major	105,025
4	Jul 27, 2020	39.27	−10.73	Below flood stage	20,800

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.

July 11, 2010: 57.63 ft here, major flooding

Columbia BridgeTX · Jul 8, 2010 · 49.42 ft · Major · its highest
LaredoTX · Jul 9, 2010 · 42.45 ft · Major
Falcon LakeTX · Jul 17, 2010 · 309.31 ft · Moderate · its highest

July 16, 2010: 57.31 ft here, major flooding

LaredoTX · Jul 9, 2010 · 42.45 ft · Major
Falcon LakeTX · Jul 17, 2010 · 309.31 ft · Moderate · its highest

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 Bridge	TX	18.0	49.42 ft, Jul 8, 2010	2
Falcon Lake	TX	301.2	309.31 ft, Jul 17, 2010	0
Laredo	TX	8.0	61.35 ft, Jun 30, 1954	7
Lower Brownsville	TX	27.0	31.48 ft, Oct 8, 1945	6
Rio Grande City this gauge	TX	50.0	65.78 ft, Sep 27, 1972	3
San Benito	TX	55.0	61.06 ft, Sep 29, 1967	1

Other gauges in Starr County

Flood gauges in Starr County

Falcon Lake	301.2	309.31 ft, Jul 17, 2010	0

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RGDT2, 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.