Rock Creek at Sherrill Drive/DC
Highest listed crest 16.20 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft107 crests since 1933
The Rock Creek at Sherrill Drive/DC crested at major flood stage 7 times among the 107 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1933 to 2025. The highest, 16.20 ft on June 22, 1972, was major flooding, 9.20 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Rock Creek crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.
The gauge
- Highest listed crest
- 16.20 ft
- June 22, 1972; 12,500 cubic feet per second
- Flood stage
- 7.0 ft
- Major flooding from 12.0 ft
- Crests at major
- 7
- 3rd of 6 gauges in District of Columbia
- Most recent flood crest
- July 19, 2025
- 8.27 ft, minor flooding
Flood stages
The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.
| Action stage | 6.0 | 9 | Aug 6, 1995 |
| Flood stage (minor) | 7.0 | 85 | Jul 19, 2025 |
| Moderate flood stage | 10.0 | 6 | Sep 10, 2020 |
| Major flood stage | 12.0 | 7 | May 1, 2014 |
Every listed crest
107 crests from 1933 to 2025. 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.
Highest crests
The 50 highest of 107 listed crests.
| 1 | Jun 22, 1972 | 16.20 | +9.20 | Major |
| 2 | Sep 6, 1979 | 14.28 | +7.28 | Major |
| 3 | Jun 26, 2006 | 13.42 | +6.42 | Major |
| 4 | Jul 21, 1956 | 13.19 | +6.19 | Major |
| 5 | Sep 26, 1975 | 13.16 | +6.16 | Major |
| 6 | May 1, 2014 | 12.19 | +5.19 | Major |
| 7 | May 6, 1989 | 12.13 | +5.13 | Major |
| 8 | Sep 14, 1966 | 11.92 | +4.92 | Moderate |
| 9 | Aug 24, 1933 | 11.60 | +4.60 | Moderate |
| 10 | Nov 22, 1952 | 11.15 | +4.15 | Moderate |
| 11 | Nov 28, 1993 | 10.99 | +3.99 | Moderate |
| 12 | Sep 10, 2020 | 10.92 | +3.92 | Moderate |
| 13 | Aug 25, 1967 | 10.30 | +3.30 | Moderate |
| 14 | Sep 1, 1952 | 9.90 | +2.90 | Minor |
| 15 | Aug 10, 1969 | 9.75 | +2.75 | Minor |
| 16 | Sep 22, 1979 | 9.73 | +2.73 | Minor |
| 17 | Oct 16, 1942 | 9.71 | +2.71 | Minor |
| 18 | Oct 23, 1990 | 9.55 | +2.55 | Minor |
| 19 | Jan 26, 1978 | 9.25 | +2.25 | Minor |
| 20 | Jul 3, 2022 | 9.12 | +2.12 | Minor |
| 21 | Oct 30, 2012 | 9.10 | +2.10 | Minor |
| 22 | Aug 8, 1953 | 9.07 | +2.07 | Minor |
| 23 | Jul 27, 2004 | 9.07 | +2.07 | Minor |
| 24 | Sep 7, 1996 | 9.02 | +2.02 | Minor |
| 25 | May 3, 2016 | 8.73 | +1.73 | Minor |
| 26 | Jun 3, 2018 | 8.58 | +1.58 | Minor |
| 27 | Aug 13, 1955 | 8.57 | +1.57 | Minor |
| 28 | Jul 29, 2017 | 8.46 | +1.46 | Minor |
| 29 | Jul 22, 2018 | 8.46 | +1.46 | Minor |
| 30 | Dec 2, 1974 | 8.37 | +1.37 | Minor |
| 31 | Jul 19, 2025 | 8.27 | +1.27 | Minor |
| 32 | Aug 18, 2010 | 8.24 | +1.24 | Minor |
| 33 | Dec 18, 2023 | 8.24 | +1.24 | Minor |
| 34 | Jan 19, 1996 | 8.20 | +1.20 | Minor |
| 35 | Jun 27, 2015 | 8.20 | +1.20 | Minor |
| 36 | Apr 26, 1937 | 8.15 | +1.15 | Minor |
| 37 | Sep 23, 2003 | 8.14 | +1.14 | Minor |
| 38 | Aug 27, 1937 | 8.13 | +1.13 | Minor |
| 39 | Nov 9, 1996 | 8.13 | +1.13 | Minor |
| 40 | May 16, 2014 | 8.12 | +1.12 | Minor |
| 41 | Sep 1, 2021 | 8.10 | +1.10 | Minor |
| 42 | Jan 1, 1976 | 8.06 | +1.06 | Minor |
| 43 | Jan 10, 2024 | 8.05 | +1.05 | Minor |
| 44 | Dec 16, 2018 | 8.02 | +1.02 | Minor |
| 45 | Oct 23, 1937 | 8.00 | +1.00 | Minor |
| 46 | Jun 3, 1979 | 7.98 | +0.98 | Minor |
| 47 | May 26, 2009 | 7.98 | +0.98 | Minor |
| 48 | Aug 28, 1979 | 7.93 | +0.93 | Minor |
| 49 | Apr 16, 2018 | 7.92 | +0.92 | Minor |
| 50 | Feb 26, 1979 | 7.85 | +0.85 | Minor |
The worst floods along the Rock Creek
For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Rock Creek that crested above flood stage within a week.
June 22, 1972: 16.20 ft here, major flooding
- Joyce Road in WashingtonDC · Jun 22, 1972 · 12.33 ft · Moderate · its highest
June 26, 2006: 13.42 ft here, major flooding
- Joyce Road in WashingtonDC · Jun 27, 2006 · 10.47 ft · Moderate
September 26, 1975: 13.16 ft here, major flooding
- Joyce Road in WashingtonDC · Sep 26, 1975 · 11.70 ft · Moderate
Gauges on the Rock Creek
In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.
| Sherrill Drive/DC this gauge | DC | 16.20 ft, Jun 22, 1972 | 7 |
| Joyce Road in Washington | DC | 12.33 ft, Jun 22, 1972 | 0 |
Other gauges in District of Columbia
| Alexandria | 8.66 ft, Sep 19, 2003 | 2 |
| Georgetown / Wisconsin Ave | 17.72 ft, Oct 17, 1942 | 9 |
| Joyce Road in Washington | 12.33 ft, Jun 22, 1972 | 0 |
| SW Waterfront (IN MLLW) | 11.05 ft, Oct 17, 1942 | 13 |
| Washington | 11.19 ft, Sep 10, 2020 | 0 |
District of Columbia: every hazard · River floods across the country · District of Columbia
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RCKD2, 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.