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 Des Moines, IA

North Central River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CST) Datum: NGVD29 Metadata

NOTE: Forecasts are not available for the Des Moines River at Saylorville Reservoir. Only observed stages are available for this point. More information on datums is available at www.ngs.noaa.gov/faq.shtml

Default Hydrograph Scale to Flood Categories   Return to Area Map

Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 0 Moderate Flood Stage: 0 Flood Stage: 884 Action Stage: 0 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 892.03 ft on 07/11/1993 (2) 891.03 ft on 06/12/2008 (3) 889.25 ft on 06/22/1984 (4) 889.15 ft on 07/01/2010 (5) 888.99 ft on 06/11/1991 (6) 883.59 ft on 04/06/1979 (7) 881.20 ft on 04/22/1983 (8) 878.91 ft on 05/14/2001 (9) 877.57 ft on 07/06/2014 (10) 871.29 ft on 07/03/2011 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 842.34 ft on 05/05/2017 (2) 837.32 ft on 03/09/2017 (3) 838.02 ft on 02/23/2017 (4) 850.59 ft on 09/30/2016 (5) 837.51 ft on 09/12/2016 (6) 837.19 ft on 06/18/2016 (7) 843.92 ft on 05/07/2016 (8) 843.71 ft on 02/25/2016 (9) 865.83 ft on 12/22/2015 (10) 837.01 ft on 09/13/2015 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records Currently none available. 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:12 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

If you notice any errors in the below information, please contact our Webmaster
915.5	This is the top of the Saylorville Dam.
892.83	Water reaches the low beams of the Iowa 415 bridge.
892.02	The Iowa 415 bridge is closed.
890	This is the top of the Saylorville Dam spillway when pneumatic crest gates are used. Without the crest gates...the top of the spillway is 884 feet.
886	US 30 west of Boone floods.
884	This is the top of the Saylorville Dam spillway when pneumatic crest gates are not used. If the pool approaches...or is forecast to exceed 884 feet then pneumatic crest gates can be used to raise the spillway elevation to 890 feet.
870	The main entrance to Jester Park floods.
858	Ledges State Park Road floods.
847	Northwest Jester Park Drive is closed.

About This Location

Latitude: 41.703610° N, Longitude: 93.689170° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 884 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 Not Available Not Available Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 0.0 ft 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: Corps of Engineers (COE) Info for Saylorville Reservoir

Additional Information

Saylorville Lake reservoir forecast--provided by the Corps of Engineers (COE)

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Hourly River Stages NWS AHPS Inundation Mapping Locations AHPS Webpage FAQs

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management US Geological Survey (map of sites) US Geological Survey (table of sites) US Army Corps of Engineers Iowa Flood Center (stream sensors) NWS River Forecast Point Monitor NWS Des Moines Hydro Briefing Snow Information

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 Des Moines Weather Forecast Office 9607 NW Beaver Dr. Des Moines, IA 50131 (515) 270-2614 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities