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Arkansas River at Van Buren, AR

River level and flood forecast · Crawford County

Normal19.4 ftas of Mon 3 PM

The river is 2.6 ft below flood stage (22 ft).

Forecast to hold near 19.4 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 7 AM.

The last 7 days and the forecast

16182022242628TueThuSatMonWedFriAction 22 ftFlood 22 ftModerate 26 ftNowObserved (ft)NWS forecast

NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 8:12 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

Major flood stage31 ft
Moderate flood stage26 ft
Flood stage22 ft
Action stage22 ft
Record crest (June 1, 2019)40.79 ft

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

  • 40 ftnear catastrophic flooding occurs along the Arkansas River. Approaches to the Highway 71B Midland bridge and I-540 bridge may be covered by high water. The Highway 64 bridge approach in Oklahoma is flooded. The port of Fort Smith and nearby businesses are severely flooded. Several residential subdivisions around Fort Smith are flooded. This approaches the flood of record from June 1, 2019 when the river crested at 40.79 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 38 ftnear catastrophic flooding occurs along the Arkansas River. The port of Fort Smith and nearby businesses are severely flooded. Several residential subdivisions around Fort Smith are flooded. The Highway 64 bridge approach in Oklahoma is flooded. Backwater flooding occurs in the trailer parks next to Lee Creek. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 37 ftnear catastrophic flooding occurs along the Arkansas River. The port of Fort Smith and nearby businesses are severely flooded. Several residential subdivisions around Fort Smith are flooded. Backwater flooding occurs in the trailer parks next to Lee Creek. Moffett is cut off from access. This exceeds conditions which occurred on May 5, 1990 when the river crested at 36.1 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 35 ftvery damaging flooding occurs along the Arkansas River floodplain. The port of Fort Smith and nearby businesses are severely flooded. Several residential subdivisions around Fort Smith are flooded. Backwater flooding occurs in the trailer parks next to Lee Creek. Old US 64 in Moffett becomes impassible. This is comparable to the December 30, 2015 flood when the river crested at 34.63 feet and May 5, 1990 when the river crested at 36.1 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 33 ftdamaging flooding occurs along the Arkansas River floodplain from Moffett, Oklahoma downstream to Lock and Dam 13. The port of Fort Smith and nearby businesses are flooded. Backwater flooding occurs in the trailer parks next to Lee Creek. Some residential subdivisions around Fort Smith are flooded. Moffet City Hall is threatened by high water. This will approach the December 30, 2015 flood when the river crested at 34.63 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 31 ftextensive flooding occurs to industrial businesses in the floodplain around Fort Smith. Flooding occurs in Moffett, Oklahoma. Backwater flooding occurs in the trailer parks near Lee Creek. Some residential subdivisions in the floodplain around Fort Smith begin to flood. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 29 ftflooding of sand and gravel companies and other businesses occurs along the river. Some backwater flooding occurs in the roads and trailer parks near Lee Creek. The staff at the Kelley Park amphitheater may be covered by high water. Minor flooding begins in Moffett, Oklahoma.
  • 28 ftflooding affects sand and gravel companies, marine terminals, and similar businesses along the river. Backwater flooding of roads and trailer parks occurs next to Lee Creek. Much of the seating areas of the Kelley Park amphitheater are covered by high water.
  • 27 ftextensive lowland flooding occurs east of the I-540 bridge to Vache Grasse Creek. Sand and gravel companies, marine terminals, and similar businesses in the floodplain begin to flood. The lowest seating rows in the Kelley Park amphitheater are covered by high water.
  • 26 ftextensive lowland flooding occurs from the I-540 bridge downstream to Vache Grasse Creek. Sand and gravel companies and marine terminals in the floodplain along the river should take precautions. The lowest seating rows of the amphitheater at Kelley Park may be covered by high water.
  • 25 ftextensive agricultural lowland flooding occurs along the shoreline from Van Buren downstream to Lavaca. Hickman Bluff Road and Highway 255 west of Lavaca will flood. Some rural roads near Lavaca are impassable. Much of Kelley Park northwest of downtown Fort Smith is flooded.
  • 24 ftminor lowland flooding occurs along the shoreline from the I-540 bridge east towards Lavaca. Some rural roads near Lavaca may be impassable. Parts of Kelley Park northwest of downtown Fort Smith experience minor flooding.
  • 23 ftminor lowland flooding occurs along the shoreline from the I-540 bridge east towards Lavaca.
  • 22 ftminor lowland flooding occurs along the shoreline from the I-540 bridge east towards Lavaca.

Highest crests on record

  1. 40.79 ft — June 1, 2019
  2. 40.26 ft — May 28, 2019
  3. 38.1 ft — April 16, 1945
  4. 38 ft — May 12, 1943
  5. 37.3 ft — November 3, 1941

Recent crests: 22.63 ft (July 9, 2025) · 22.14 ft (June 19, 2025) · 24.99 ft (June 16, 2025) · 24.19 ft (June 8, 2025) · 23.92 ft (May 27, 2025)

Up and down the river, and nearby

See it on the live map →Radar & warnings for Crawford CountyNWS gauge pageUSGS gauge 07250500

Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (VBUA4); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.