Cottonwood River at Emporia, KS
River level and flood forecast · Lyon County
Normal3.0 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM
The river is 17.0 ft below flood stage (20 ft).
Flow: 380 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sat, Oct 3, 1:44 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 32 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 24 ft |
| Flood stage | 20 ft |
| Action stage | 15 ft |
| Record crest (July 11, 1951) | 33.4 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 29.2 ftWater reaches the deck floor of the Old Highway K 99 bridge over the Cottonwood River.
- 26.5 ftWater reaches low steel of Old K 99 bridge over the Cottonwood River.
- 25.5 ftHighway K 99 on the north bank begins to flood.
- 24 ftHighway K 99 on the south bank floods.
- 23 ftNorth bank of the Cottonwood River begins to flood. Lowland flooding occurs along the Cottonwood River from Plymouth to Neosho Rapids.
- 20 ftSouth bank of the Cottonwood River 1 mile south of Emporia floods.
Highest crests on record
- 33.4 ft — July 11, 1951
- 29.5 ft — November 2, 1998
- 29.5 ft — July 20, 1948
- 29.1 ft — June 30, 1951
- 28.5 ft — October 11, 1985
Recent crests: 25.73 ft (June 5, 2025) · 23.11 ft (June 11, 2024) · 7.44 ft (June 6, 2023) · 23.89 ft (June 7, 2022) · 22.01 ft (June 2, 2022)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (EMPK1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.