Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe

Highest listed crest 13.09 ftFlood stage 10.5 ft9 crests since 1986

The Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 9 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1986 to 2023. The highest, 13.09 ft on December 31, 2005, was major flooding, 2.59 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Upper Truckee River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 13.09 ft; December 31, 2005; 2,850 cubic feet per second
Flood stage: 10.5 ft; Major flooding from 12.5 ft
Crests at major: 3; 19th of 106 gauges in California
Most recent flood crest: December 31, 2022; 11.05 ft, minor flooding
Location: El Dorado County; Near South Lake Tahoe (0.7 mi)
Identifiers: NWS UTRC1; USGS 10336610

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe

Action stage	9.5	1	May 1, 1995	The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)	10.5	4	Dec 31, 2022	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	11.5	0	—	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	12.5	3	Feb 9, 2017	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

9 crests from 1986 to 2023. 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.
5 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 9.12 ft on Nov 12, 1973; 12.54 ft on Feb 16, 1982; 9.77 ft on May 30, 1983; 9.98 ft on Nov 20, 1983; 18.00 ft on Jan 2, 1997.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe

1	Dec 31, 2005	13.09	+2.59	Major	2,850
2	Mar 8, 1986	12.89	+2.39	Major	2,740
3	Feb 9, 2017	12.78	+2.28	Major	2,680
4	Apr 7, 2018	11.41	+0.91	Minor	1,970
5	Dec 31, 2022	11.05	+0.55	Minor	1,830
6	Jan 9, 2017	10.98	+0.48	Minor	1,800
7	May 16, 1996	10.94	+0.44	Minor	1,780
8	May 1, 1995	10.18	−0.32	Action	1,460
9	May 23, 2023	9.18	−1.32	Below flood stage	1,090

The worst floods along the Upper Truckee River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Upper Truckee River that crested above flood stage within a week.

December 31, 2005: 13.09 ft here, major flooding

MeyersCA · Dec 31, 2005 · 10.07 ft · Moderate

February 9, 2017: 12.78 ft here, major flooding

MeyersCA · Feb 8, 2017 · 10.14 ft · Moderate · its highest

April 7, 2018: 11.41 ft here, minor flooding

MeyersCA · Apr 7, 2018 · 9.89 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Upper Truckee River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Upper Truckee River

Meyers	CA	9.0	10.14 ft, Feb 8, 2017	0
South Lake Tahoe this gauge	CA	10.5	13.09 ft, Dec 31, 2005	3

Other gauges in El Dorado County

Flood gauges in El Dorado County

Meeks Bay	5.5	5.93 ft, Jan 9, 2017
Tahoe Valley	9.0	9.36 ft, Feb 10, 2017
Meyers	9.0	10.14 ft, Feb 8, 2017

El Dorado County: every hazard · River floods across the country · California

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge UTRC1, 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.