Truckee River at Farad, CA
River level and flood forecast · Nevada County
The river is 7.1 ft below flood stage (11 ft).
Forecast to hold near 3.9 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 5 AM.
Flow: 363 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 7:59 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
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An email when the National Weather Service forecasts Truckee River at Farad to flood, when it floods, and when it's over.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 13 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 12 ft |
| Flood stage | 11 ft |
| Action stage | 10 ft |
| Record crest (November 21, 1950) | 14.37 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 15 ftRecord flooding at Farad and near record to record flooding on the entire mainstem Truckee River. Disastrous flooding of buildings,roads and bridges in the Verdi/Mogul area and downstream. Transportation is nearly cut off in all directions to and from Reno/Sparks.
- 14.5 ftFlood disaster from Boca downstream to Nixon. Near record flooding of buildings, roads and bridges in the Verdi/Mogul area. Transportation in and out of the region extremely difficult. Similar to record flood on November 21 1950. About a one in 100 chance of being exceeded during any given year per USGS estimates.
- 14 ftSevere near record flooding from Boca to Mogul with extensive damage to low lying structures along the river. Regional transportation severely affected with many major roads flooded or damaged. Not quite as severe as the record November 21 1950 flood.
- 13.5 ftMajor flooding with extensive damage to roads, bridges and structures from Boca to Mogul, especially in the Verdi/Mogul area. Transportation becomes very difficult and most major roads and highways in the area are flooded, including Interstate 80. Exceeding the level and impacts from the January 1997 flood.
- 13 ftMajor flooding from Boca to Mogul. At these flows significant damage should be expected to low lying roads,bridges and structures along the river ,especially in the Verdi/Mogul area. Transportation is significantly affected including flooding along portions of Interstate 80. Impacts roughly similar to the flood of January 1997.
- 12.5 ftExpanding moderate flooding from Boca to Mogul. Damage to roads, bridges and low lying buildings, especially in the Verdi/Mogul area. Transportation affected with many road closures. Impacts approaching, but not as severe as January 2 1997.
- 12 ftModerate flooding from Boca to Mogul, especially to trailer and public parks in the Verdi/Mogul area along the river. Some damage to roads,bridges and low lying structures in the area.
- 11.5 ftMinor to moderate flooding from Boca to Mogul, especially to trailer and public parks in the Verdi/Mogul area along the river.
- 11 ftFlood stage. Minor lowland flooding in some locations from Boca to Mogul, especially parks and low lying terrain in the Verdi/Mogul area. Similar to the 12/31/2005 peak.
- 10.5 ftMinimal nuisance flooding of low lying areas from Boca to Mogul,but near bankfull in portions of the Verdi/Mogul area. Similar to the 1/8/2017 peak.
- 10 ftMonitor Stage, No flooding from Boca to Mogul, including the Floriston and Verdi areas. This level is near the histoic maxiumum observed spring snowmelt flows.
- 9 ftNo flooding from Boca to Mogul, including the Floriston and Verdi areas. Similar to the 4/7/2018 peak.
- 8.5 ftNo flooding from Boca to Mogul, including the Floriston and Verdi areas. Near this leve releases from Prosser, Boca, and Stampede Reservoirs are cut to reduce high flows at Reno. Near the highest snowmelt flows in May of 2023.
Highest crests on record
- 14.37 ft — November 21, 1950
- 13.49 ft — December 11, 1937
- 13.4 ft — March 18, 1907
- 13.21 ft — January 2, 1997
- 12.98 ft — December 23, 1955
Recent crests: 8.35 ft (May 23, 2023) · 9 ft (April 7, 2018) · 10.41 ft (January 8, 2017) · 10.9 ft (December 31, 2005) · 13.21 ft (January 2, 1997)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (FARC1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.