Active spring pattern across the center of our nation with several episodes of severe weather and heavy rainfall expected into next week. The potential for very large hail, long track tornadoes, severe wind gusts, frequent cloud to ground lightning strikes and flash flooding are in the outlook. Furthermore, dangerous early season heat wave continues for the Gulf Coast states into early next week. Read More >
Republican River Flood of May 30, 1935This website is dedicated to preserving the history of the Republican River Flood of 1935.
Recently David Pearson, Senior Service Hydrologist at Omaha, Nebraska released a paper on the top five floods in Nebraska. The 1935 Republican River flood remains at the top of the list! If you would like to learn more about his research you can check out his paper here! On May 30, 1935 in the middle of the Dust Bowl, one of the greatest droughts the Great Plains has seen, a historic flood swept through the Republican River, creating devastation along it's path. As stated on the historical marker at Orleans, Nebraska, "On May 30, 1935, torrential rains fell in eastern Colorado and southwestern Nebraska; by early morning of the 31st, the usually peaceful Republican River was running bluff-to-bluff along its upper reaches. When the waters subsided two days later, over 100 lives had been lost and many millions of dollars of damage had been done..." Thus begins the story about the flood.
History of the Republican River Basin Before the homesteaders began farming and ranching in the Republican River Basin, the Native American tribe of the Republican Pawnee lived in the region. A photo of a Republican Pawnee courtesy of the Nebraska State Historical Society is shown below.
Below are maps of the Republican River Basin. The colors indicate sub-basins within the Republican River Basin. The first map is a map of towns in the basin while the second map shows the names of the rivers and tributaries. Click on each map to enlarge.
Below is a map of the river as it exists today: ![]() |