Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of Spring 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS. The NWS is now accepting feedback on NWPS. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information.

Experimental National Water Center Products: Flood Inundation Mapping services are now available for 10% of the U.S. population. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information. The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via the URL above, as described in the StoryMap here.

DID YOU KNOW... Please try our new TEST hydrograph page link at: https://preview.water.noaa.gov/gauges/abcde - Just replace “abcde” with your local hydrograph five character ID found in the lower left corner of the hydrograph.  In late March of 2024, the base URL path will become water.noaa.gov.  Feedback can be provided HERE

Weather Forecast Office Northern Indiana, IN

Ohio River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Inundation Mapping

Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (EST) Datum: NAVD88 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Stage may be affected by ice during winter months. NOTE: Forecasts for the Blanchard River at Ottawa are issued routinely year-round.

Default Hydrograph Scale to Flood Categories   Return to Area Map

Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 30 Moderate Flood Stage: 27 Flood Stage: 23 Action Stage: 20 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 33.30 ft on 03/25/1913 (2) 31.40 ft on 08/23/2007 (3) 29.75 ft on 06/15/1981 (4) 29.72 ft on 02/11/1959 (5) 29.29 ft on 02/07/2008 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 23.80 ft on 05/11/2021 (P) (2) 25.17 ft on 05/20/2020 (3) 25.32 ft on 04/27/2019 (4) 22.23 ft on 02/22/2018 (5) 27.55 ft on 07/15/2017 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) -2.37 ft on 01/15/1979 (2) -1.50 ft on 02/19/1980 (3) 4.39 ft on 08/28/2020 Show More Low Water Records For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

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29	Widespread major flooding occurs throughout downtown Ottawa.
27	Flooding worsens on the south side of Ottawa, with water on several roads. Flooding also begins in other areas of Ottawa.
26.6	Flood water begins to hit the bottom of the bridge at the gage site.
25	Flooding begins along south Walnut and west Second Streets on the south side of Ottawa.
23	Lowland flooding occurs mainly in south Ottawa. Flood water also gets into low farmlands.
Photos (1) Upstream view from gauge site (2) Downstream view from gauge site

About This Location

Latitude: 41.017000° N, Longitude: 84.046900° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD27 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 23 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 698.43 ft 721.43 Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Ottawa

Additional Information

Per USGS record: All periods of record that are estimated are rated poor. All other periods are rated as follows: For the period Oct. 1, 2014 to Feb. 10, 2016, records good. Feb. 11, 2016 to Dec. 22, 2016 discharge records are good. Dec. 23, 2016 to Feb. 14, 2017 discharge records are fair. Feb. 15, 2017 to May 29, 2017 discharge records are good. May 30, 2017 to Nov. 14, 2017 discharge records are fair. Nov. 15, 2017 to Oct. 30, 2018 discharge records are fair, except for discharges between 700 cfs. and 5900 cfs. which are poor. Gauge zero transitioned from 699 NGVD29 to 698.43 NAVD88 on Oct 1, 2009. Potential River Levels Used to Estimate the Chance of Flooding and the Range of Possible River Levels 10 Day (HEFS) 10 Day (NAEFS) River Forecast VS. River Potential Note: Use the official hydrograph at the top of this web page for river levels within the next 72 hours. Click individual graphics to enlarge.

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary US Geological Survery Surface Water Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management NOAA Drought Information Center Snow Information Water Resource Outlook Ohio Valley Experimental Ensemble River Forecasts

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Northern Indiana Weather Forecast Office 7506 E 850 N Syracuse, IN 46567 (574) 834-1104 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:30 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities