San Luis Rey River at Oceanside

Highest listed crest 21.70 ftFlood stage 21.0 ft7 crests since 1983

The San Luis Rey River at Oceanside crested above flood stage 1 time among the 7 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1983 to 2019. The highest, 21.70 ft on January 16, 1993, was minor flooding, 0.70 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 21.70 ft; January 16, 1993; 25,700 cubic feet per second
Flood stage: 21.0 ft; Major flooding from 28.0 ft
Crests at major: 0; 1 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest: January 16, 1993; 21.70 ft, minor flooding
Location: San Diego County; Near Oceanside (3.1 mi), Vista (7.3 mi), Carlsbad (7.5 mi)
Identifiers: NWS SLOC1; USGS 11042000

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, San Luis Rey River at Oceanside

Flood stage (minor)	21.0	1	Jan 16, 1993	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	24.5	0	—	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	28.0	0	—	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

7 crests from 1983 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
3 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 12.00 ft on Feb 7, 1937; 18.60 ft on Mar 28, 1979; 14.00 ft on Feb 21, 1980.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, San Luis Rey River at Oceanside

1	Jan 16, 1993	21.70	+0.70	Minor	25,700
2	Jan 11, 2005	20.70	−0.30	Below flood stage	8,420
3	Mar 6, 1995	19.97	−1.03	Below flood stage	19,500
4	Feb 15, 2019	18.45	−2.55	Below flood stage	7,960
5	Mar 1, 1991	17.17	−3.83	Below flood stage	4,610
6	Feb 15, 1986	14.99	−6.01	Below flood stage	2,410
7	Mar 3, 1983	14.23	−6.77	Below flood stage	9,350

Other gauges in San Diego County

Flood gauges in San Diego County

Fashion Valley	10.0	16.30 ft, Feb 21, 1980	0
Ysidora	12.5	15.07 ft, Feb 14, 2019	0

San Diego County: every hazard · River floods across the country · California

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SLOC1, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.