Saline River at Benton, AR
River level and flood forecast · Saline County
Normal3.1 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM
The river is 14.9 ft below flood stage (18 ft).
Forecast to hold near 3.1 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 7 AM.
Flow: 13 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 10:24 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 26 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 24 ft |
| Flood stage | 18 ft |
| Action stage | 17 ft |
| Record crest (September 4, 2008) | 29.27 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 30 ftFlood of record, 30.5 feet in April 1st 1927.
- 29 ftFlood of September 4th 2008 from the rainfall of Hurricane Gustav crested at 29.27 feet. Expect similar impacts. Homes along the lower end of River Street and Side Streets and also the manufactured home subdivision along Henry Street flooded.
- 28 ftHomes may be flooded on River Street and the side streets. The manufactured home subdivision along Henry Street is flooding. River reached 29.3 feet in September 2008 from Hurricane Gustav rainfall.
- 26 ftSerious flooding begins at this level, there will be problems in the industrial area, near the airport, and along the water supply impoundment downstream of Interstate 30 and the nearby manufactured home subdivision. Watch for flooding of low lying roads.
- 24 ftModerate flooding begins at this level. River Street in Southwest Benton may be flooded by backwater up Willow Depot Creek, especially if there is heavy rain in the Benton area during the high river level. Also, possible flooding up McNeil and Salt Creeks.
- 22 ftCommercial and industrial facilities in the flood plain along the left bank may be affected. Water is deep in the pastures along the west bank.
- 20 ftPastures along west bank will flood. There may be some low lying county roads near the river flooding.
- 18 ftMinor flooding begins at 18 feet, flooding of low lying pastures along the west bank.
Highest crests on record
- 29.27 ft — September 4, 2008
- 27.63 ft — December 25, 2009
- 26.62 ft — March 8, 1990
- 26.5 ft — May 14, 1968
- 26.4 ft — April 6, 2025
Recent crests: 26.4 ft (April 6, 2025) · 18.57 ft (March 15, 2024) · 21.37 ft (January 24, 2024) · 22.97 ft (May 12, 2023) · 18.01 ft (April 21, 2023)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (BTNA4); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.