National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service

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This probabilistic forecast is issued by the North Central River Forecast Center.

	Hydrograph			River at a Glance			Download			Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental) Not Available

About this graph

Forecasts for the Des Plaines River at Riverside are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available.

Return to Area Map

Upstream Gauge

Zoom Level:15

Flood Categories (in feet)

Major Flood Stage:	9
Moderate Flood Stage:	8
Flood Stage:	7.5
Action Stage:	7
Low Stage (in feet):	-9999

Historic Crests
(1) 11.28 ft on 04/18/2013
(2) 9.90 ft on 08/15/1987
(3) 9.87 ft on 09/14/2008
(4) 9.82 ft on 01/26/1969
(5) 9.24 ft on 07/24/2010
Show More Historic Crests

(P): Preliminary values subject to further review.

Recent Crests
(1) 8.31 ft on 05/01/2019 (P)
(2) 8.05 ft on 02/21/2018 (P)
(3) 8.58 ft on 10/15/2017 (P)
(4) 8.07 ft on 07/22/2017
(5) 7.71 ft on 07/15/2017
Show More Recent Crests

(P): Preliminary values subject to further review.

Low Water Records
Currently none available.

	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
11.5	Widespread inundation of industrial property and structures north of the river in McCook.
11	Structures threatened at Brookfield Zoo.
10.5	Residences threatened between river and 39th Street in Riverside. Structures are threatened along River Road near the river in Hodgkins. Structures threatened south of 47th Street near the river in McCook.
9.5	Parking areas at Brookfield Zoo threatened. Industrial parking area near the river and I-55 is threatened.
9	Residences threatened near confluence Des Plaines River and Salt Creek.
8.5	IL-171 (1st Avenue) threatened near Brookfield Zoo. Water may begin to overflow into the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal near Willow Springs.
8	Park areas are inundated near Confluence of Des Plaines River and Salt Creek.
7.5	Low-lying sections of Miller Meadow, Indian Gardens, Cermak Woods, Ottawa Trail Woods, and other forest land along the river are inundated.
7	Water begins to overflow banks in adjacent forest preserve areas.

Other Real-time and/or Archive Data Sources:

Additional Information

How much forecast precipitation was used for the current river forecast?
USGS Streamflow Duration Hydrograph
How low could the river get?
On September 24, 2017, flood stage was changed from 7.0 ft to 7.5 ft. Action stage was changed from 6.0 ft to 7.0 ft.

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
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Page last modified: 7-Nov-2019 3:33 PM

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