Around here
Around Lightning Creek
Public land: USGS PAD-US
About this river
Lightning Creek is a 54.0 mile river. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Lightning C near Mccune, KS (site 07184000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 6. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1939 to 2026
Lightning Creek typically runs highest in May, at a median 37 cfs, and lowest in September, at 1.1 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 42,400 cfs, in 1993.
Show the numbers
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 12 | 3.0 to 47 |
| February | 18 | 5.7 to 64 |
| March | 30 | 8.8 to 91 |
| April | 28 | 9.6 to 92 |
| May | 37 | 10 to 149 |
| June | 30 | 6.4 to 117 |
| July | 4.6 | 0.6 to 18 |
| August | 1.1 | 0.1 to 7.9 |
| September | 1.1 | 0.1 to 15 |
| October | 3.0 | 0.0 to 17 |
| November | 7.3 | 0.2 to 41 |
| December | 10 | 2.1 to 38 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 75 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Lightning C near Mccune, KS (site 07184000). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Made to print
Put Lightning Creek on your wall
This river section as an art print, drawn over the real terrain with its miles, plus the trails, roads and peaks around it. Pick the colors and the size, and see the finished print before you buy. From $39, shipping included.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Lightning Creek's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
See every free widget you can put on your site, including live conditions and a 7 day forecast.
