Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of Spring 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS. The NWS is now accepting feedback on NWPS. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information.

Experimental National Water Center Products: Flood Inundation Mapping services are now available for 10% of the U.S. population. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information. The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via the URL above, as described in the StoryMap here.

DID YOU KNOW... Please try our new TEST hydrograph page link at: https://preview.water.noaa.gov/gauges/abcde - Just replace “abcde” with your local hydrograph five character ID found in the lower left corner of the hydrograph.  In late March of 2024, the base URL path will become water.noaa.gov.  Feedback can be provided HERE

Weather Forecast Office Wichita, KS

Missouri Basin River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CST) Datum: NGVD29 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past and future precipitation. Forecast stages may be different if forecast future rainfall does not occur. NOTE: Stage may be affected by ice during winter months. Reliability of the Forecast: Forecast data shown here are guidance values only. Please refer to your local NWS office. NOTE: Forecasts for the Smoky Hill River at Ellsworth are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available.

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Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 27 Moderate Flood Stage: 24 Flood Stage: 20 Action Stage: 18 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 30.07 ft on 07/22/1993 (2) 27.20 ft on 06/01/1938 (3) 25.70 ft on 08/13/1927 (4) 25.57 ft on 07/23/1993 (5) 24.85 ft on 07/26/1990 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 14.68 ft on 05/27/2021 (2) 21.43 ft on 06/22/2020 (3) 20.90 ft on 05/26/2019 (4) 23.04 ft on 10/10/2018 (5) 13.41 ft on 09/04/2018 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records Currently none available. For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

Zoom Level:14 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

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27	Major and widespread flooding is anticipated. The left bank begins to overflow into the Ellsworth area.
24	Extensive flooding of low-lying areas and roads around the area will be impacted including Highway 14. The bridge on Hwy 14 becomes flooded along with some homes around the area.
23	The road 100 feet south of the Highway 14 Bridge will become inundated with about 1 ft depth of water.
21	About 100 feet south of the Highway 14 Bridge the road becomes flooded.
20	Some flooding of low-lying areas, bottom land and roads near the gage site can be expected. The Highway 14 Bridge is closed to southbound traffic at the gage site.
18	Overflows occur on the rightbank near the gage site on Highway 14 in the southwest side of town. The bridge at the gage site is closed to southbound traffic.
17	Minor rural overflows begin at this level.
Photos (1) Looking upstream, stage 1.38 ft (2) Looking downstream, stage 1.38 ft (3) View of wireweight gage and DCP gage house in background

About This Location

Latitude: 38.726660° N, Longitude: 98.233330° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD27 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 20 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 Not Available Not Available Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 1509.02 ft 1529.02 ft Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Ellsworth

Additional Information

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Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Tabular River Summary HADS River Stage Data River & Streamflow Conditions-USGS Drought Monitor Inundation Mapping Locations Frost Depth Penetration/Thawed Maps

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management Cowskin Creek Flood Watch-USGS Snow Information Regional Temperature/Precipitation Table Tulsa District Corps of Engineers Streamflow Data US Geological Survey (map of sites) US Geological Survey (table of sites) City of Wichita/Sedgwick County Real-time Stream & Rainfall Network

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Wichita Weather Forecast Office 2142 South Tyler Road Wichita, KS 67209 (316) 942-3102 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities