Fall River level at Fredonia
Kansas · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 07169500 — FALL R AT FREDONIA, KS · NWS forecast point FRNK1
Reading taken · as of 28 min ago
About normal for the date
At 15 CFS, this gauge is inside the middle half of the 87 years USGS has recorded for this date (1939–2026), at 77% of the 20 CFS median.
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Flood stages at Fredonia
National Weather Service categories for gauge FRNK1, WFO ICT. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
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Major flood 36.0 ft
- 36.0 ft Highway 96 begins to flood just 1 mile south of Fredonia near the gage site.
- 37.0 ft Flood waters begin to enter residential homes southwest of the river bridge located 1 mile south of Fredonia off of Highway 96.
- 41.0 ft The Highway 96 Bridge at the gage site takes on 1 ft of flood waters and the road north of the bridge floods 2.5 ft deep. Residential homes southwest of the river gage site, 1 south of Fredonia, experience 4 ft of flood waters into main floor of homes.
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Moderate flood 27.0 ft
- 27.0 ft Flood waters begin to encroach on residential homes and floods half of yards along the south bank of river located 1 mile south of Fredonia off of Highway 96.
- 29.0 ft Flood waters reach within 50 feet of residential homes along the south bank located 1 mile south of Fredonia off of Highway 96.
- 32.0 ft Flood waters reach within 20 feet of residential homes along the south bank of river located 1 mile south of Fredonia off of Highway 96.
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Minor flood 17.0 ft
- 17.0 ft Flood waters backup into residential yards located 1 mile south of Fredonia near the gage site off of Highway 96. Expect bank overflows on both banks.
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Action 15.0 ft · 6,425 CFS
- Right now 2.99 ft
Flow history at Fredonia
Daily values from USGS 07169500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for FRNK1 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Fredonia
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 41.12 ft | 77,800 CFS | Jun 30, 2007 |
| 36.17 ft | 49,000 CFS | Apr 16, 1945 |
| 35.00 ft | 44,000 CFS | Apr 19, 1927 |
| 34.00 ft | 39,500 CFS | Jun 16, 1923 |
| 33.90 ft | 39,000 CFS | Oct 2, 1927 |
| 33.32 ft | 34,000 CFS | May 20, 1943 |
| 33.30 ft | 36,000 CFS | Jul 31, 1904 |
| 33.29 ft | 38,800 CFS | Apr 23, 1944 |
| 32.26 ft | 32,800 CFS | Oct 3, 1986 |
| 31.94 ft | 31,000 CFS | Apr 28, 1994 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Fall River at Fredonia
In Kansas, below Fall River Lake. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Fall River Lake. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Fall River at Fredonia — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Fall River Lake affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Fall River at Fredonia high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for late September here is 20 CFS, from 87 years of record (1939–2026). Today sits inside the middle half of those years, at 77% of the median. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 07169500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for FRNK1 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.