Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

Black Hawk Creek at Hudson

Highest listed crest 19.03 ftFlood stage 15.0 ft75 crests since 1952

The Black Hawk Creek at Hudson crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 75 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1952 to 2025. The highest, 19.03 ft on April 25, 2008, was major flooding, 4.03 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
19.03 ft
April 25, 2008; 22,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
15.0 ft
Major flooding from 19.0 ft
Crests at major
1
93rd of 203 gauges in Iowa
Most recent flood crest
June 23, 2020
18.12 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Black Hawk County
Near Cedar Falls (7.7 mi), Waterloo (8.1 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Black Hawk Creek at Hudson
Action stage14.015Jan 21, 2017The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)15.011Mar 9, 2009Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage16.020Jun 23, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage19.01Apr 25, 2008Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

75 crests from 1952 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Black Hawk Creek at Hudson, 1952 to 2025 5101520ft Flood stage 15.0 ftMajor 19.0 ft Apr 1, 1952: 10.63 ft, below flood stage; 900 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1953: 15.46 ft, minor floodingJul 7, 1953: 13.71 ft, below flood stage; 2,100 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1954: 13.58 ft, below flood stage; 2,040 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1955: 11.86 ft, below flood stage; 830 cubic feet per secondSep 6, 1956: 9.03 ft, below flood stage; 421 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1957: 14.57 ft, action stage; 2,490 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 1958: 14.57 ft, action stage; 2,450 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1959: 16.48 ft, moderate flooding; 8,750 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1960: 16.93 ft, moderate flooding; 9,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1961: 14.93 ft, action stage; 2,950 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1962: 15.70 ft, minor flooding; 5,400 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1963: 13.69 ft, below flood stage; 2,080 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1964: 9.61 ft, below flood stage; 825 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1965: 16.35 ft, moderate flooding; 7,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1966: 14.82 ft, action stage; 3,080 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 1967: 11.44 ft, below flood stageMar 27, 1967: 10.11 ft, below flood stage; 852 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1968: 15.26 ft, minor flooding; 3,470 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1969: 18.23 ft, moderate flooding; 19,300 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1970: 14.63 ft, action stage; 2,750 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1971: 16.70 ft, moderate floodingMar 14, 1971: 16.35 ft, moderate flooding; 5,200 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1972: 14.08 ft, action stageJun 15, 1972: 11.68 ft, below flood stage; 1,320 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 1973: 16.33 ft, moderate flooding; 5,690 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1974: 16.84 ft, moderate flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1975: 13.22 ft, below flood stage; 4,300 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1976: 14.43 ft, action stage; 2,520 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1977: 6.60 ft, below flood stage; 196 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1978: 14.66 ft, action stage; 2,720 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1979: 16.59 ft, moderate flooding; 7,950 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1980: 14.70 ft, action stage; 2,820 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1981: 12.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1982: 15.32 ft, minor flooding; 3,600 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1983: 15.58 ft, minor flooding; 4,340 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1984: 14.55 ft, action stage; 2,640 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1985: 14.80 ft, action stage; 2,300 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1986: 15.33 ft, minor flooding; 4,190 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1987: 11.23 ft, below flood stage; 852 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1988: 10.46 ft, below flood stage; 567 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1989: 9.59 ft, below flood stageJun 17, 1990: 17.32 ft, moderate flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1991: 16.55 ft, moderate flooding; 8,770 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1992: 14.26 ft, action stage; 2,590 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1993: 16.94 ft, moderate flooding; 9,670 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1994: 15.32 ft, minor flooding; 4,230 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1995: 11.19 ft, below flood stageJun 7, 1995: 10.89 ft, below flood stage; 1,160 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 2002: 10.37 ft, below flood stage; 942 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 2003: 13.19 ft, below flood stage; 1,790 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2004: 16.42 ft, moderate flooding; 8,070 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 2005: 15.33 ft, minor flooding; 3,470 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2006: 11.49 ft, below flood stage; 1,180 cubic feet per secondAug 22, 2007: 15.82 ft, minor flooding; 5,540 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 2008: 19.03 ft, major flooding; 22,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 2009: 15.90 ft, minor floodingMar 9, 2009: 15.86 ft, minor flooding; 5,910 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2010: 16.19 ft, moderate flooding; 6,850 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2011: 14.68 ft, action stageFeb 22, 2011: 13.39 ft, below flood stage; 2,110 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2012: 9.36 ft, below flood stage; 720 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2013: 18.96 ft, moderate flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2014: 18.50 ft, moderate flooding; 16,900 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 2015: 14.92 ft, action stage; 3,100 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2015: 16.82 ft, moderate flooding; 8,470 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 2017: 14.63 ft, action stage; 3,330 cubic feet per secondSep 5, 2018: 16.82 ft, moderate flooding; 7,260 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2019: 17.43 ft, moderate flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2020: 18.12 ft, moderate flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2021: 10.54 ft, below flood stage; 965 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2022: 11.81 ft, below flood stage; 1,330 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2023: 13.47 ft, below flood stageFeb 28, 2023: 12.77 ft, below flood stage; 1,610 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2025: 13.31 ft, below flood stage; 1,930 cubic feet per second Highest, 19.03 ft, Apr 25, 2008 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Black Hawk Creek at Hudson 1950s: 2 1960s: 5 1970s: 5 1980s: 3 1990s: 4 2000s: 6 6 2010s: 6 2020s: 1 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. 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.
  2. 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 75 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Black Hawk Creek at Hudson
1Apr 25, 200819.03+4.03Major22,500
2May 30, 201318.96+3.96Moderate19,100
3Jul 1, 201418.50+3.50Moderate16,900
4Jul 9, 196918.23+3.23Moderate19,300
5Jun 23, 202018.12+3.12Moderate11,500
6Mar 15, 201917.43+2.43Moderate10,800
7Jun 17, 199017.32+2.32Moderate13,800
8Jul 9, 199316.94+1.94Moderate9,670
9Mar 31, 196016.93+1.93Moderate9,000
10Jun 22, 197416.84+1.84Moderate10,500
11Dec 15, 201516.82+1.82Moderate8,470
12Sep 5, 201816.82+1.82Moderate7,260
13Feb 20, 197116.70+1.70Moderate—
14Mar 19, 197916.59+1.59Moderate7,950
15Apr 29, 199116.55+1.55Moderate8,770
16Mar 27, 195916.48+1.48Moderate8,750
17May 23, 200416.42+1.42Moderate8,070
18Apr 6, 196516.35+1.35Moderate7,500
19Mar 14, 197116.35+1.35Moderate5,200
20Feb 2, 197316.33+1.33Moderate5,690
21Mar 12, 201016.19+1.19Moderate6,850
22Feb 11, 200915.90+0.90Minor—
23Mar 9, 200915.86+0.86Minor5,910
24Aug 22, 200715.82+0.82Minor5,540
25Mar 28, 196215.70+0.70Minor5,400
26May 20, 198315.58+0.58Minor4,340
27Feb 21, 195315.46+0.46Minor—
28Mar 14, 198615.33+0.33Minor4,190
29Jun 30, 200515.33+0.33Minor3,470
30Mar 20, 198215.32+0.32Minor3,600
31Mar 6, 199415.32+0.32Minor4,230
32Aug 6, 196815.26+0.26Minor3,470
33Feb 23, 196114.93−0.07Action2,950
34Aug 30, 201514.92−0.08Action3,100
35Feb 9, 196614.82−0.18Action3,080
36Mar 4, 198514.80−0.20Action2,300
37Jun 3, 198014.70−0.30Action2,820
38Feb 18, 201114.68−0.32Action—
39Mar 22, 197814.66−0.34Action2,720
40Mar 3, 197014.63−0.37Action2,750
41Jan 21, 201714.63−0.37Action3,330
42May 30, 195714.57−0.43Action2,490
43Jul 16, 195814.57−0.43Action2,450
44Feb 20, 198414.55−0.45Action2,640
45Mar 13, 197614.43−0.57Action2,520
46Feb 19, 199214.26−0.74Action2,590
47Mar 1, 197214.08−0.92Action—
48Jul 7, 195313.71−1.29Below flood stage2,100
49Mar 17, 196313.69−1.31Below flood stage2,080
50Jun 11, 195413.58−1.42Below flood stage2,040

Other gauges in Black Hawk County

Flood gauges in Black Hawk County
Cedar Falls89.0102.10 ft, Jun 10, 20087
Waterloo13.027.01 ft, Jun 11, 20084
Finchford17.020.82 ft, Jun 10, 20081

Black Hawk County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Iowa

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HUDI4, 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.