Heavy rains in western and central Nebraska last week have created what has been a rare sight in recent years — the Platte River full to its banks.

At the Ashland gauge station Wednesday, the river flowed at a rate of 48,600 cubic feet per second, according to the U.S. Geological Survey  Web site. The median flow for the date is 6,500 cfs, based on 19 years of data.

The flow at Ashland reflects water the Platte picks up from the Loup River and the Elkhorn River.

Farther west, storm runoff caused the Platte to leave its banks for the first time since widespread drought started in 2000.

The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District reported the river flowing at  5,180 cubic feet per second at Kearney on Wednesday. A year ago, the same gauge station measured a flow of  just 441 cfs.

At Grand Island Wednesday, the Platte was flowing at nearly 9,000 cfs, compared to 435 a year ago.

“Some of the staff who’ve been here for a long time say it’s looking as good as it has looked for several years,” said Brad Mellema, director of the Audubon Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon.

The heavy flows will help improve habitat for threatened and endangered birds that rely on the Platte, Mellema said. That’s because the high flows scour vegetation from sandbars, making them more attractive to many bird species.

Further upstream, the irrigation district reported water flowing from the North Platte River into Lake McConaughy at a rate of 1,100 cubic feet per second, compared to 235 last year on the same date.

The increased flows will help the state’s largest reservoir gain water after seven years of drought. They also could help save the fishery at Elwood Reservoir south of Lexington, which is 47 feet below full pool, said Tim Anderson, spokesman for CNPPID.

But the higher flows will be temporary, unless rain continues to fall, Anderson said. For example, the water volume at Kearney dropped by about 4,000 cfs between Tuesday and Wednesday.

And McConaughy still remains at less than half of full capacity. For that reason, irrigators who receive water from the lake will get 6.7 inches this year, down from 18 inches when the lake is full. This marks the fourth straight year irrigators will receive restricted water allotments.

Meanwhile, heavy rains in southcentral and southwest Nebraska also helped drought-inflicted rivers and reservoirs, said Daryl Bauer, reservoir and lake program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Precipitation swelled the Republican River to flood stage earlier this week and it helped Harlan County Reservoir reach full pool for the first time in years.

Other reservoirs in the southwestern region, however, remain well below capacity. For example, Enders Reservoir is at 40 percent of capacity; Swanson is about half full and Red Willow is about 78 percent of capacity, Bauer said.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.