Poteau River near Panama, OK
River level and flood forecast · Le Flore County
Normal5.7 ftas of Mon 3:30 PM
The river is 23.3 ft below flood stage (29 ft).
Flow: 70 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Wed, Sep 30, 10:38 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 41 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 33 ft |
| Flood stage | 29 ft |
| Action stage | 29 ft |
| Record crest (June 18, 1935) | 49.6 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 47 ftdisasterous flooding occurs. Highway 271 may be impassible due to high water. Numerous county roads are totally impassable. A water treatment facility near Panama is surrounded by high water. This exceeds the flooding that occurred on May 3, 1990 when the river crested at 46.59 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
- 45 ftdisasterous flooding occurs. Highway 271 is threatened by high water. Numerous county roads are totally impassable. A water treatment facility near Panama is surrounded by high water and water is over the burms of the retention ponds. This exceeds the flooding that occurred on May 12, 2015 when the river crested at 43.5 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
- 43 ftvery severe agricultural flooding occurs. Numerous county roads are totally impassable. A water treatment facility near Panama is surrounded by high water and the retention ponds are flooded around 43.8 feet. This is similar to the flooding that occurred on May 12, 2015 when the river crested at 43.5 feet. This is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation.
- 41 ftvery severe flooding occurs from near Poteau to Arkoma. Up to 20,000 acres of farmland is flooded. Several county roads crossing the Poteau River are totally impassable. This is a dangerous and life threatening situation.
- 39 ftsevere depths of flooding of crop and pasturelands occur from Shady Point to Arkoma. Several roads crossing the Poteau River are totally impassable.
- 37 ftextensive flooding of crop and pasturelands occur between Shady Point and Arkoma. Many roads in the floodplain become impassable.
- 35 ftmoderate flooding of agricultural lands occur from Panama to Arkoma. Some local and county roads in the floodplain become impassable.
- 33 ftmoderate flooding of agricultural lands occurs between Shady Point and Arkoma. Williams Road east of Panama and some local farm roads are flooded.
- 31 ftminor agricultural flooding occurs. Williams Road east of Panama is flooded.
- 29 ftminor agricultural flooding occurs.
Highest crests on record
- 49.6 ft — June 18, 1935
- 47.35 ft — December 29, 2015
- 46.59 ft — May 3, 1990
- 46.4 ft — May 14, 1968
- 45.1 ft — April 17, 1939
Recent crests: 29.71 ft (June 15, 2026) · 31.24 ft (June 8, 2026) · 29.06 ft (April 26, 2026) · 30.12 ft (April 5, 2026) · 28.58 ft (June 15, 2025)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (PANO2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.