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Visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for access to new EXPERIMENTAL products and services from the National Water Center: National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook and the National Water Center Visualization Services, a suite of geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model information.

Weather Forecast Office Northern Indiana, IN

North Central River Forecast Center

Beach Hazards Statement

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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About this graph

Tabular Data (UTC)

Tabular Data (EDT)

Datum: NAVD88

Metadata

NOTE: Forecasts for the St. Joseph River (MI/IN) at South Bend are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available.

Vertical datum height surveyed by the USGS

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet)

Major Flood Stage:	9
Moderate Flood Stage:	8
Flood Stage:	5.5
Action Stage:	4.5
Low Stage (in feet):	-9999

Historic Crests
(1) 12.70 ft on 02/22/2018
(2) 10.90 ft on 01/06/1993
(3) 10.90 ft on 03/15/1982
(4) 10.70 ft on 02/24/1985
(5) 9.60 ft on 01/09/2008
Show More Historic Crests

(P): Preliminary values subject to further review.

Recent Crests
(1) 6.43 ft on 06/28/2021 (P)
(2) 6.83 ft on 05/20/2020
(3) 7.13 ft on 05/02/2019
(4) 12.70 ft on 02/22/2018
(5) 7.80 ft on 04/20/2013
Show More Recent Crests

(P): Preliminary values subject to further review.

Low Water Records
(1) 0.00 ft on 09/29/2010
(2) 0.07 ft on 09/06/2020
(3) 0.07 ft on 11/29/2008
Show More Low Water Records

For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov.

Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers

Zoom Level:16

	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
11.1	The river is at the 100 year flood level.
11	Business areas near Indiana University at South Bend campus are flooded. Residents in River Commons, near Keller Park and Riverside Drive between Marion and Bartlett are flooded in their basements. Street flooding closes portions of Northshore Drive and Northside Blvd. Evacuations may be necessary and the wastewater treatment plant will be completely flooded.
10	Flooding affects commercial areas near Indiana University at South Bend campus along Northside Blvd.
9	Major flooding is in progress. Flooding almost completely submerges parks and floods local streets near the St. Joseph River.
8	Flood waters begin to affect river parks and roads and may affect portions of Northside Blvd in the area of Veterans Memorial Park, and Riverside Drive in the areas south of Leeper Park, by Keller Park and Woodland Park. High water may cause flooding of basements and interfere with some commercial activities.
7	Flooding is confined to park land and park roads. Some backyard flooding may occur in low lying residential areas near the river.
6	Flooding is confined to mostly park land and golf courses. Leeper Park and Petro golf courses begin to flood.
5.5	The river reaches flood stage with the lowest residential areas beginning to flood.
Photos (1) Staff gauge at low flow (2) South Bend staff gauge

About This Location

Latitude: 41.720278° N, Longitude: 86.267778° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84

River Stage Reference Frame	Gauge Height	Flood Stage	Uses
NWS stage	0 ft	5.5 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	656.40	661.90	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 South Bend

Additional Information

As of July 28, 2021 the data source for this location was transitioned from the manual staff gauge of record to the co-located USGS automated stream gauge which was installed in February 7, 2019. This also included a datum change from NGVD29 to NAVD88. The flood of record (12.70ft) occurred prior to the automated gauge installation and was using the manual staff gauge zero datum of 656.90ft NGVD29.

How low could the river get?

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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
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Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:30 PM

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