Is the Trinity River flooding?
The Trinity River is tracked by 15 USGS streamgauges in Texas. This page compares each gauge’s live water level against its official National Weather Service flood stage, refreshed every 15 minutes, so you can tell whether the Trinity River is running normal, rising toward flood stage, or already flooding. 9 of 15 gauges have both a usable water-level reading and a published minor flood stage. Gauges without a published flood stage show water level and flow only. For nearby rivers, see all Texas river levels.
River facts
The longest-running gauge on this river is Trinity River near Oakwood, TX. The highest level ever recorded there was 53.00 ft in 1890, carrying 180,000 cfs. Peak records there go back to 1890 (104 annual peaks). It is currently at 3.39 ft, 49.6 ft below that record.
| Gauge | Status | Stage | Flood stage | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity River at Dallas, TX | No flooding | 11.68 ft | 30 ft | |
| Trinity River near Rosser, TX | No flooding | 2.79 ft | 31 ft | |
| Trinity River at Trinidad, TX | No flooding | 7.18 ft | 33 ft | |
| Trinity River near Oakwood, TX | No flooding | 3.39 ft | 35 ft | |
| Trinity River near Crockett, TX | No flooding | 1.76 ft | 41 ft | |
| Trinity River at Riverside, TX | No flooding | 129.34 ft | 133.5 ft | |
| Trinity River near Goodrich, TX | No flooding | 4.67 ft | 36 ft | |
| Trinity River at Romayor, TX | No flooding | 10.73 ft | 40 ft | |
| Trinity River at Liberty, TX | No flooding | 7.16 ft | 26 ft | |
| Trinity River near Wilmer, TX | No current data | — | — | — |
| Trinity River below Dallas, TX | No flood stage defined | 1.12 ft | — | |
| Trinity River at W Cedar Creek Pkwy near Rosser, TX | No flood stage defined | 13.56 ft | — | |
| Trinity River at Hwy 287 near Cayuga, TX | No flood stage defined | 30.00 ft | — | |
| Trinity River near Midway, TX | No flood stage defined | 129.52 ft | — | |
| Trinity River at FM 3478 near Trinity, TX | No flood stage defined | 129.33 ft | — |
About the Trinity River
The Trinity runs from four forks north of Dallas–Fort Worth south to Galveston Bay, making it the largest river entirely within Texas by drainage. It passes through the state's biggest metropolitan area, which means its floodplain and its flood risk are unusually entangled with people and property.
The 1908 flood and the floodway that followed
On 26 May 1908 the Trinity at Dallas reached about 52.6 ft and spread roughly a mile and a half wide. Five people died, 4,000 were left homeless, and the city was cut off from Oak Cliff. The flood permanently changed how Dallas related to its river.
The response was engineering: the levee and floodway system that now defines the Dallas Floodway was completed in the 1930s after delays caused by the First World War and financing problems, and was tested by floods in 1935 and 1941.
An engineered river
Today the Trinity through the metroplex is a managed system of levees, floodway and upstream reservoirs. That changes what a gauge reading means: levels reflect reservoir operations as much as rainfall, and a rise without local rain is routine.
Downstream of the metroplex the river becomes slower and broader, and flooding there tends to be prolonged rather than flashy — the opposite behaviour to the Hill Country rivers further south.
Reading this river
Compare each gauge against its own flood stage rather than against other Trinity gauges: the datum and channel differ enormously between the urban floodway and the lower river, so raw heights are not comparable.
During heavy rain over Dallas–Fort Worth, the urban tributaries respond far faster than the mainstem. Local creek gauges are the early signal; the mainstem crest can be days behind.