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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.

Weather Forecast Office Little Rock, AR

Lower Mississippi 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: NAVD88 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Forecasts for the Buffalo River near St Joe are issued routinely year-round.

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Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 50 Moderate Flood Stage: 35 Flood Stage: 27 Action Stage: 20 Low Stage (in feet): 0 Historic Crests (1) 53.75 ft on 12/03/1982 (2) 50.50 ft on 08/01/1915 (3) 49.41 ft on 03/19/2008 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 27.67 ft on 03/25/2023 (2) 34.47 ft on 04/30/2017 (3) 45.58 ft on 12/28/2015 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 2.10 ft on 09/16/1954 (2) 2.17 ft on 09/06/1980 Show More Low Water Records

Zoom Level:16 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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53.8	The crest of record is 53.8 feet which occurred December 3rd 1982. Incredible flooding experienced with the bridges or approach roads to the bridges on U.S. Highway 65 and State Highway 14 overtopped. Lower lying portion of the town of Gilbert may flood.
50	Water is near U.S. 65 Highway Bridge lower steel. Recreational facilities in the lower lying areas along the river in the vicinity of Gilbert will flood. Buffalo river crested at 49.4 feet March 19 2008. There has been three crest over 49 feet since 1915, December 1982 crest of 53.8 feet, August 1915 crest of 50.5 feet and the March 2008 crest of 49.4 feet.
46.5	Crest of April 25 2004 was 46.51 feet. Primary impacts are to the recreational facilities of the National Park Service, such as Tyler Bend Campground near U.S. Highway 65. River is swift and dangerous and may be carrying a tremendous amount of debris. Floating and other recreational activities on and along the river should be avoided.
45	Buffalo River has crested over 45 feet at the U.S. Highway 65 gage six times since 1915. These events occurred in August 1915, November 1973, December 1982, April 2004, March 2008, and December 2015. River is swift, dangerous, and carrying a large amount of debris. Activities on and around the river should be avoided.
42	River crested in May 1990 at this level. Expect similar damages and impacts. River has crested above 42 feet at the gage on U.S. Highway 65 bridge eight times since 1915.
35	All of Tyler Bend Access Area is flooded. Backwater up Bear, Mill, and Calf Creeks flood an extensive area of the valley. River has crested above 35 feet at the U.S. Highway 65 gage at least nineteen times since 1915.
27	Tyler Bend Access Area begins to flood. Some campsites are under water and Comfort Station is flooded.
20	Limited impacts due to the lack of private property along the river. Some access points and public facilities will be effected. The National Park Service has recommended that float activities stop well below this flow level and conditions are dangerous to recreational floaters. Floodplain along the North Bank begins to flood.
Photos (1) Buffalo River looking downstream (2) Buffalo River looking upstream

About This Location

Latitude: 35.983056° N, Longitude: 92.747222° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 27 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 29 555.85 ft 582.85 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 St Joe

Additional Information

Station operated by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Little Rock District and the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management Excessive Rainfall Forecast Rainfall Reports RiverGages.com Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir Forecast

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 Little Rock Weather Forecast Office 8400 Remount Road North Little Rock, AR 72118 (501) 834-0308 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities