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Spokane River at Spokane

Highest listed crest 29.75 ftFlood stage 27.0 ft60 crests since 1893

The Spokane River at Spokane crested above flood stage 18 times among the 60 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1893 to 2024. The highest, 29.75 ft on December 26, 1933, was moderate flooding, 2.75 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
29.75 ft
December 26, 1933; 47,800 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
27.0 ft
Major flooding from 30.0 ft
Crests at major
0
18 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
April 4, 2017
27.01 ft, minor flooding
Location
Spokane County
Near Spokane (0.9 mi), Airway Heights (6.1 mi), Spokane Valley (10.1 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Spokane River at Spokane
Action stage26.04May 12, 2018The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)27.016Apr 4, 2017Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage29.02May 19, 1997Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage30.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

60 crests from 1893 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Spokane River at Spokane, 1893 to 2024 -100102030ft Flood stage 27.0 ftMajor 30.0 ft May 21, 1893: -0.09 ft, below flood stage; 37,500 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1894: -0.09 ft, below flood stage; 49,000 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1913: -0.09 ft, below flood stage; 33,600 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1917: -0.09 ft, below flood stage; 41,900 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 1918: -0.09 ft, below flood stage; 39,600 cubic feet per secondDec 26, 1933: 29.75 ft, moderate flooding; 47,800 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1936: 27.10 ft, minor flooding; 33,700 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1943: 27.04 ft, minor flooding; 32,400 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1948: 28.35 ft, minor flooding; 39,600 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1949: 27.23 ft, minor flooding; 34,200 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1956: 27.95 ft, minor flooding; 37,800 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1957: 27.38 ft, minor flooding; 35,600 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1965: 26.93 ft, action stage; 33,200 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1971: 27.00 ft, minor flooding; 34,000 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1972: 27.06 ft, minor flooding; 34,400 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1974: 28.94 ft, minor flooding; 45,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1982: 27.90 ft, minor flooding; 38,400 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1983: 24.33 ft, below flood stage; 19,800 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1984: 24.58 ft, below flood stage; 20,900 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1985: 25.76 ft, below flood stage; 26,400 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1986: 25.20 ft, below flood stage; 23,700 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1987: 23.69 ft, below flood stage; 17,300 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1988: 24.18 ft, below flood stage; 19,200 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1989: 25.89 ft, below flood stage; 27,000 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1990: 25.24 ft, below flood stage; 23,900 cubic feet per secondNov 29, 1990: 24.85 ft, below flood stage; 22,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1992: 21.98 ft, below flood stage; 10,800 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1993: 24.71 ft, below flood stage; 21,600 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1994: 23.46 ft, below flood stage; 16,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1995: 25.23 ft, below flood stage; 23,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1996: 28.04 ft, minor flooding; 36,500 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1997: 29.09 ft, moderate flooding; 41,800 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1998: 23.84 ft, below flood stage; 16,500 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1999: 25.38 ft, below flood stage; 23,000 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2000: 26.42 ft, action stage; 29,000 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 2001: 23.80 ft, below flood stage; 16,800 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2002: 26.88 ft, action stage; 31,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 2003: 24.01 ft, below flood stage; 17,700 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2004: 23.48 ft, below flood stage; 15,300 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2004: 23.12 ft, below flood stage; 14,000 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2006: 24.64 ft, below flood stage; 21,000 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2007: 25.19 ft, below flood stage; 23,100 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2008: 28.41 ft, minor flooding; 40,800 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2009: 24.99 ft, below flood stage; 22,200 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2010: 23.79 ft, below flood stage; 17,000 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2011: 27.21 ft, minor flooding; 33,679 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 2012: 27.72 ft, minor flooding; 36,631 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2013: 24.37 ft, below flood stage; 19,400 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2014: 25.89 ft, below flood stage; 26,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2015: 25.06 ft, below flood stage; 22,500 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2016: 24.09 ft, below flood stage; 18,200 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2017: 28.73 ft, minor flooding; 42,843 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 2017: 27.01 ft, minor flooding; 32,529 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2018: 26.12 ft, action stage; 27,700 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2019: 24.75 ft, below flood stage; 21,100 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2020: 24.31 ft, below flood stage; 19,200 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 2021: 22.89 ft, below flood stage; 13,600 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2022: 25.63 ft, below flood stage; 24,500 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2023: 25.50 ft, below flood stage; 24,000 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 2024: 22.27 ft, below flood stage; 11,300 cubic feet per second Highest, 29.75 ft, Dec 26, 1933 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Spokane River at Spokane 1890s: 0 1900s: 0 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 2 1940s: 3 1950s: 2 1960s: 0 1970s: 3 1980s: 1 1990s: 2 2000s: 1 2010s: 4 4 2020s: 0 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

The 50 highest of 60 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Spokane River at Spokane
1Dec 26, 193329.75+2.75Moderate47,800
2May 19, 199729.09+2.09Moderate41,800
3Jan 20, 197428.94+1.94Minor45,600
4Mar 22, 201728.73+1.73Minor42,843
5May 23, 200828.41+1.41Minor40,800
6May 31, 194828.35+1.35Minor39,600
7Feb 12, 199628.04+1.04Minor36,500
8Apr 27, 195627.95+0.95Minor37,800
9Feb 23, 198227.90+0.90Minor38,400
10Apr 29, 201227.72+0.72Minor36,631
11May 25, 195727.38+0.38Minor35,600
12May 16, 194927.23+0.23Minor34,200
13May 28, 201127.21+0.21Minor33,679
14Apr 27, 193627.10+0.10Minor33,700
15Mar 21, 197227.06+0.06Minor34,400
16Apr 22, 194327.04+0.04Minor32,400
17Apr 4, 201727.01+0.01Minor32,529
18May 15, 197127.000.00Minor34,000
19Apr 25, 196526.93−0.07Action33,200
20Apr 18, 200226.88−0.12Action31,400
21Apr 24, 200026.42−0.58Action29,000
22May 12, 201826.12−0.88Action27,700
23Apr 25, 198925.89−1.11Below flood stage27,000
24Mar 13, 201425.89−1.11Below flood stage26,600
25Apr 19, 198525.76−1.24Below flood stage26,400
26Jun 18, 202225.63−1.37Below flood stage24,500
27May 8, 202325.50−1.50Below flood stage24,000
28Jun 3, 199925.38−1.62Below flood stage23,000
29Jun 6, 199025.24−1.76Below flood stage23,900
30Feb 25, 199525.23−1.77Below flood stage23,900
31Mar 11, 198625.20−1.80Below flood stage23,700
32Mar 29, 200725.19−1.81Below flood stage23,100
33Feb 14, 201525.06−1.94Below flood stage22,500
34Apr 26, 200924.99−2.01Below flood stage22,200
35Nov 29, 199024.85−2.15Below flood stage22,100
36Apr 14, 201924.75−2.25Below flood stage21,100
37May 17, 199324.71−2.29Below flood stage21,600
38Apr 19, 200624.64−2.36Below flood stage21,000
39Jun 1, 198424.58−2.42Below flood stage20,900
40Apr 10, 201324.37−2.63Below flood stage19,400
41Mar 15, 198324.33−2.67Below flood stage19,800
42May 23, 202024.31−2.69Below flood stage19,200
43Apr 22, 198824.18−2.82Below flood stage19,200
44Mar 17, 201624.09−2.91Below flood stage18,200
45Feb 3, 200324.01−2.99Below flood stage17,700
46May 28, 199823.84−3.16Below flood stage16,500
47Apr 2, 200123.80−3.20Below flood stage16,800
48Jun 23, 201023.79−3.21Below flood stage17,000
49May 1, 198723.69−3.31Below flood stage17,300
50Apr 19, 200423.48−3.52Below flood stage15,300

Other gauges in Spokane County

Flood gauges in Spokane County
Spokane11.014.90 ft, Jan 1, 19970
Dartford6.58.27 ft, Mar 21, 19970

Spokane County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Washington

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SPOW1, 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.