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Driftwise · NOAA river forecasts

Flood outlook for Nebraska.

263 NOAA river gauges report in Nebraska. 22 are forecast at or above action stage, and 36 are already reading at or above it.

263Gauges reporting2.0% of the national network
27With a current forecastThe rest report observations only
22Forecast at or above action
36Observed at or above action
Where they are

Gauges across Nebraska.

One dot per NOAA river gauge. Filled dots carry a current forecast; hollow rings report an observation only.

ColoradoKansasMinnesotaSouth DakotaIowa100° W98° W96° W40° N42° N44° N
NOAA NWPS categories, October 1, 2026. The national map is searchable.

236 of these gauges carry no current forecast and are drawn as hollow rings: present, and explicitly not forecast. That is not a statement that flooding is not expected there — NOAA's river forecast centres issue forecasts for a subset of the network, and the rest of these gauges only report what the water is doing now.

  • Moderate flooding8 forecast · 5 observed
  • Minor flooding10 forecast · 17 observed
  • Action stage4 forecast · 14 observed
  • No flooding5 forecast · 209 observed
Snapshot

At or above action stage in Nebraska.

Recorded October 1, 2026. Every row says whether the category is a FORECAST — the highest level still ahead — or an OBSERVATION taken at the gauge. They frequently disagree.

NOAA river gauges in Nebraska at or above action stage as of October 1, 2026
GaugeReadingLevelCategory
Big Blue River At Beatriceforecast27.0 ftModerate flooding
Big Blue River Near Creteforecast30.0 ftModerate flooding
Little Blue River Near Fairburyforecast20.2 ftModerate flooding
Little Salt Creek Near Lincoln (Arbor Road)observed22.7 ftModerate flooding
Rock Creek Near Cerescoobserved26.8 ftModerate flooding
Salt Creek At Lincoln (27th Street)forecast26.6 ftModerate flooding
Salt Creek Near Ashlandforecast21.5 ftModerate flooding
Salt Creek Near Greenwoodforecast27.4 ftModerate flooding
Turkey Creek Near Dewittforecast25.2 ftModerate flooding
Wahoo Creek At Ashlandobserved20.1 ftModerate flooding
Wahoo Creek At Wahooobserved25.4 ftModerate flooding
West Fork Big Blue River Near Dorchesterforecast22.3 ftModerate flooding
Reading it

What these categories mean.

The two things worth understanding before drawing a conclusion from this map.

Forecast is not observation

Each gauge carries two independent readings. The forecast is the highest level still ahead in the river forecast centre's current forecast — which is what makes this map forward-looking. The observed category describes the gauge's latest actual reading. A gauge can be quiet now and forecast to reach minor flooding in two days, or the reverse. A gauge with no forecast is not a gauge forecast to stay dry; it is a gauge NOAA has not issued a forecast for.

Not a warning service

Driftwise re-serves NOAA's own categories from a copy refreshed hourly. We do not issue forecasts, we do not issue warnings, and this page can be up to an hour behind. For flood warnings in Nebraska, and for anything you would act on, use theNational Water Prediction Serviceand your local National Weather Service office; for life-safety information, follow your local emergency management agency.

Live map

See Nebraska on the live map.

This page is a still frame. The national map is interactive — pan, zoom, filter, and read every record behind what you see here.

Flood · Rivers · United States

NOAA’s river forecast centres call the next few days at every forecast gauge in the country, on the National Weather Service’s own flood categories — action, minor, moderate and major.

Open the flood outlook map →

Also free

More on Nebraska.

Every Driftwise public map covers Nebraska. No login, no paywall.

Any point · Nine datasets · United States

Watershed Explorer

Click any point in the country — or search a subbasin, gauge or lake by name — and read what nine federal datasets say about it: flow, drought, fire, smoke, flood forecast, satellite cyanobacteria screening, land cover, critical habitat and Clean Water Act impairment, each one labelled with what it is actually a fact about.

Wildfire · Smoke · United States

Wildfire & Smoke Map — Nebraska

Official NIFC fire perimeters and incident points under NOAA’s HRRR-Smoke near-surface forecast, filterable by size, state, and containment.

Open the national wildfire and smoke map →

Streamflow · Rivers · United States

Streamflow Map — Nebraska

Every reporting USGS stream gauge in the country, coloured by how today’s flow ranks against that gauge’s own record for this calendar day.

Open the national streamflow map →

Drought · United States

U.S. Drought Map — Nebraska

The U.S. Drought Monitor — the country’s official weekly drought assessment — drawn across five severity categories from D0 to D4.

Open the national U.S. drought map →

Water quality · 303(d) · United States

Impaired Waters Map — Nebraska

Every subwatershed in the country against the states’ own Clean Water Act assessments — what is impaired, what is still on the 303(d) list, what is causing it, and how much of the country nobody has assessed at all.

Open the national impaired waters map →

Cyanobacteria · Lakes · United States

Cyanobacteria Bloom Map — Nebraska

NASA and EPA’s satellites read a pigment index over roughly 2,300 U.S. lakes large enough to resolve at 300 m. A pre-screening indicator, not a health assessment, and never a substitute for your state’s advisory.

Open the national cyanobacteria bloom map →

ESA · Protected land · United States

Critical Habitat & Protected Waters Map — Nebraska

Every river and stream the federal government has designated as ESA critical habitat, the listed species each unit is designated for, and who manages the protected land around it.

Open the national critical habitat map →

Every Driftwise public map →

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