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 March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

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.

Weather Forecast Office Indianapolis, IN

Ohio River Forecast Center

Special Weather Statement

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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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 (EDT) Datum: NAVD88 Metadata

NOTE: Forecasts for the Big Blue River (IN) at Shelbyville are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available.

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 18 Moderate Flood Stage: 15 Flood Stage: 13 Action Stage: 9 Low Flow (in KCFS): 0.04 Historic Crests (1) 20.20 ft on 03/28/1913 (2) 18.43 ft on 01/06/2005 (3) 18.41 ft on 11/15/1993 (4) 18.30 ft on 01/12/1937 (5) 18.30 ft on 12/23/2013 (6) 18.30 ft on 01/25/1937 (7) 18.06 ft on 04/04/2018 (8) 18.03 ft on 12/31/1990 (9) 17.70 ft on 03/05/1963 (10) 17.10 ft on 04/21/2011 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 14.34 ft on 03/26/2023 (P) (2) 14.92 ft on 03/08/2022 (P) (3) 14.22 ft on 07/18/2021 (P) (4) 14.17 ft on 03/20/2020 (P) (5) 15.67 ft on 01/12/2020 (P) (6) 16.19 ft on 06/17/2019 (7) 16.72 ft on 02/08/2019 (8) 14.67 ft on 11/03/2018 (9) 15.81 ft on 09/10/2018 (10) 18.06 ft on 04/04/2018 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: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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23.9	Low steel of Harrison Street Bridge over the Big Blue River at gaging site.
20	Near record or record flooding is in progress. Major flooding causes substantial residential and business damage in Shelbyville.
19.5	Maximum good reading before wellhouse is flooded.
18	Major flood strikes Shelbyville.
17	Extensive flooding along left bank affects business and residential property along Boggstown Road. Rural flooding of a few homes near CR 100N and Boggstown Road on April 21, 2011.
16.3	Extensive flooding occurring along Big Blue River. Several residences in Shelbyville had water in their yards on March 6, 2011. One day later extensive flooding at mile marker 82.5 in the Edinburgh area. Several homes along Sugar Creek were evacuated when the level peaked at nine ft on the New Palestine gage one day earlier.
15	High water affects trucking firm on Boggstown Road.
14	Flooding begins to affect business and residential property. West Washington Avenue east of rendering plant begins to flood. In winter and spring, persons are not too concerned. This level is rather unusual for summer.
13.5	Flooding affects Boggstown Road near sewage plant. Considerable flooding of agricultural fields south of Boggstown Road. Lowland flooding occurring along the Big Blue River in Johnson County.
13	Flood Stage. Water reaches CR 425W. Some agricultural land and extremely low-lying areas like Bear Chase golf course are flooded.
12.5	Right bank 50 feet upstream of gage site overflows.
12	Lowland flooding begins in Sunset Park on left bank about one-half downstream of gage site. Water very near and may start flowing over Shelby CR 425W south of Shelby CR 50S and north of Shelby CR 100S.
11	Flooding begins at Bear Chase Golf Course. Lowland flooding begins in Sunset Park located on left bank about one-half mile downstream of gage site. Flood waters in agricultural fields in SR 44 area.
9	River is near bankfull and impairing sewage treatment operation. Some flooding is likely in southwest Shelby county.
Photos (1) Confluence of Little Blue and Big Blue Rivers. River stage 11.6 feet. (2) Looking west southwest from North Noble Street. River stage 11.6 feet (3) Looking northeast from CSX RR bridge. River stage 11.6 feet (4) Looking towards SR 9 bridge from CSX RR bridge. River stage 11.6 feet (5) Looking towards CSX RR bridge from SR 9 bridge. River stage 11.6 feet (6) Looking west southwest from SR 9 bridge. River stage 11.6 feet (7) Looking east from gage site. River stage 11.6 feet (8) Looking north from gage site. River stage 11.6 feet (9) Looking west northwest from gage site. River stage 11.6 feet (10) Looking west northwest along River Road at gage site. The road is a levee. (11) Looking north at Boggstown Road from Sunset Park. River is 11.6 feet. (12) Looking southwest from Shelbyville Public Access Site. River is 11.6 feet. (13) Looking northwest from auto salvage yard on River Road. River is 11.6 feet. (14) Looking northwest along CR 425W. River is 11.6 feet in Shelbyville.. (15) Looking north from SR 44 bridge. River is 11.6 feet in Shelbyville.. (16) Looking northeast from SR 44 bridge. River is 11.6 feet in Shelbyville.. (17) Looking south from SR 44 bridge. River is 11.6 feet in Shelbyville..

About This Location

Latitude: 39.529167° N, Longitude: 85.777500° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 13 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 737.21 ft 750.21 ft Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 737.67 ft 750.67 ft 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 Shelbyville

Additional Information

Potential River Levels Used to Estimate the Chance of Flooding and the Range of Possible River Levels 10 Day (HEFS) 10 Day (NAEFS) 10 Day (GEFS) 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 Survey Surface Water United States Water Monitor Water Resources Outlook NWS Inundation Mapping Locations Wabash River Conservation Area Water flow from Norway and Oakdale Dams Indianapolis Reservoir Levels Midwest Region U.S. Drought Monitor Indianapolis Museum of Art: FLOW Can You See the River? The Flood of 1913 - Remembered Friends of the White River

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management National Precipitation Graphic Suite Another Zoomable Hourly Precipitation Maps Zoomable Snowfall Maps Indiana State Climate Office Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network in Indiana Snow Information Midwestern Regional Climate Center Indiana Precipitation Frequencies Drainage Areas of Indiana Streams Ensemble River Forecasts Ohio River Forecast Center

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 Indianapolis Weather Forecast Office 6900 West Hanna Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46241 (317) 856-0360 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:30 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities