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 Chicago, IL

North Central River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CDT) Datum: Not Available Metadata

NOTE: Graphical forecasts are not available for the North Branch Chicago River at Niles. During times of high water, forecast crest information can be found in the text products.

Default Hydrograph Scale to Flood Categories   Return to Area Map

Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 12 Moderate Flood Stage: 11 Flood Stage: 10 Action Stage: 7 Low Stage (in feet): 0.5 Historic Crests (1) 12.13 ft on 09/14/2008 (2) 12.12 ft on 04/18/2013 (3) 11.35 ft on 08/14/1987 (4) 10.63 ft on 02/21/1997 (5) 10.26 ft on 05/18/2020 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 10.26 ft on 05/18/2020 (2) 8.89 ft on 04/30/2020 (3) 8.14 ft on 03/28/2020 (4) 9.28 ft on 05/01/2019 (5) 8.11 ft on 06/22/2018 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 0.85 ft on 08/05/1993 (2) 0.92 ft on 07/06/2001 (3) 0.99 ft on 09/21/1994 (4) 1.02 ft on 11/06/2007 (5) 1.17 ft on 10/01/2014 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:15 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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13.5	Howard Avenue is threatened in Niles.
12	Widespread flooding of wooded areas along the river including numerous trails and recreation areas.
11	Structures are threatened near the river in Niles.
10	Riverside Drive, Harts Road, and Jarvis Avenue are threatened near the river in Niles.
8	Low-lying areas in Bunker Hill Woods, Caldwell Woods, and multiple golf courses are inundated.
7	Sections of the North Branch Trail are inundated near Cicero Avenue in Chicago. Trails are threatened at Tam O'Shanter Golf Course in Niles.
6.5	Water overtops low-lying banks in Niles.
6	Water overtops low-lying banks near the gauge.

Low Water Impacts

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1.0	River nears zero flow.

About This Location

Latitude: 42.009383° N, Longitude: 87.796761° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 10 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 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 Niles

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary USGS WaterAlert Gauge Notifications Drought Information Snow Cover Information Flood Safety NWS Chicago Hydrology Program Hydrology of North Illinois and Northwest Indiana

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management

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 Chicago Weather Forecast Office 333 W. University Dr. Romeoville, IL 60446 (815) 834-1435 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities