Little Arkansas River near Halstead, KS
River level and flood forecast · Harvey County
Normal5.8 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM
The river is 19.2 ft below flood stage (25 ft).
Flow: 18 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 6 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 29 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 27 ft |
| Flood stage | 25 ft |
| Action stage | 24 ft |
| Record crest (May 25, 2007) | 27.22 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 27 ftFlood water covers the westbound lane of Highway 50 at mile marker 262. Flooding inundates Halstead Road on the north end of city and on K89 or Hertzler Road leading into Halstead from the north. Flood gates on west end of Halstead will be closed. The second flood gate by the railroad on the east side of Halstead closes around 27.2 feet.
- 26.8 ftFlood waters cover K89 to an expansion of 1500 ft. The depth of water is about 2 to 3 inches. There is a considerable amount of cropland flooding. Water is over Halstead Road near an automotive business which is located 1/2 mile north of city. Flood waters flow across the road at about 3 inches in depth and expands across the road about 10 ft across. The Little Arkansas River will be about 1 1/2 feet below the bridge grider on Halstead Road.
- 26 ftRiverside Park floods north of the river. Flood waters may begin to encroach on K89 just north of the river bridge along with a trailer park and a few residences north of Halstead. Expect field flooding on both sides of Halstead Road north of the flood gates. More field flooding occurs north of Highway 50 on the east bank of the river. Just southeast of the city, SW 48th St becomes impassable from Hertzler Rd to Essex Heights.
- 25 ftExpect cropland and field flooding near the river.
Highest crests on record
- 27.22 ft — May 25, 2007
- 27.13 ft — November 2, 1998
- 27.12 ft — May 9, 2019
- 27.09 ft — May 23, 2019
- 26.95 ft — August 8, 2013
Recent crests: 20.53 ft (July 24, 2025) · 26.05 ft (June 20, 2025) · 17.64 ft (June 21, 2024) · 9.67 ft (June 23, 2023) · 19.67 ft (May 28, 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 (HTDK1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.