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North River near Norwalk

Highest listed crest 25.33 ftFlood stage 22.0 ft88 crests since 1940

The North River near Norwalk crested above flood stage 26 times among the 88 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1940 to 2025. The highest, 25.33 ft on June 17, 1990, was moderate flooding, 3.33 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
25.33 ft
June 17, 1990; 22,600 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
22.0 ft
Major flooding from 26.0 ft
Crests at major
0
26 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 15, 2019
23.71 ft, minor flooding
Location
Warren County
Near Norwalk (2.7 mi), Indianola (8.0 mi), Des Moines (8.2 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, North River near Norwalk
Action stage17.048Jul 11, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)22.023Mar 15, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage25.03Sep 11, 2014Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage26.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

88 crests from 1940 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the North River near Norwalk, 1940 to 2025 1015202530ft Flood stage 22.0 ftMajor 26.0 ft Aug 1, 1940: 14.74 ft, below flood stage; 986 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 1941: 17.40 ft, action stage; 1,530 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1942: 20.62 ft, action stage; 4,350 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1943: 20.51 ft, action stage; 3,720 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1944: 20.45 ft, action stage; 3,830 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1945: 19.90 ft, action stage; 2,590 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 1946: 21.87 ft, action stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1947: 25.30 ft, moderate flooding; 32,000 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1948: 21.36 ft, action stage; 7,200 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1949: 18.68 ft, action stage; 1,860 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1950: 20.32 ft, action stage; 3,430 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1951: 20.52 ft, action stage; 3,970 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1952: 20.80 ft, action stage; 5,670 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1953: 19.64 ft, action stage; 1,940 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1954: 18.45 ft, action stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1956: 16.85 ft, below flood stage; 1,140 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1957: 18.26 ft, action stage; 1,410 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1958: 20.77 ft, action stage; 3,180 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1959: 22.60 ft, minor flooding; 9,460 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1960: 21.00 ft, action stage; 6,800 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1961: 20.05 ft, action stage; 2,480 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1961: 20.18 ft, action stageMar 21, 1962: 21.87 ft, action stage; 5,200 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1963: 19.97 ft, action stageMay 1, 1963: 19.72 ft, action stage; 2,080 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1964: 20.23 ft, action stage; 2,130 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1965: 22.86 ft, minor flooding; 8,000 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1966: 20.41 ft, action stage; 1,580 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1967: 20.45 ft, action stage; 1,920 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1968: 13.71 ft, below flood stage; 555 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1969: 21.43 ft, action stage; 3,840 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1970: 22.18 ft, minor flooding; 5,740 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1971: 22.40 ft, minor flooding; 2,200 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1972: 21.47 ft, action stage; 3,770 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1973: 22.23 ft, minor flooding; 5,920 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1974: 23.25 ft, minor flooding; 8,500 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1975: 21.55 ft, action stage; 4,100 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1976: 23.13 ft, minor flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 1977: 21.38 ft, action stage; 2,860 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1978: 22.44 ft, minor flooding; 6,760 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1979: 21.57 ft, action stage; 4,140 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1980: 19.12 ft, action stage; 1,650 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1981: 21.18 ft, action stage; 2,750 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1982: 22.00 ft, minor floodingAug 7, 1982: 21.78 ft, action stage; 4,630 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1983: 21.90 ft, action stage; 4,290 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1984: 23.03 ft, minor flooding; 13,700 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1986: 17.83 ft, action stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondAug 28, 1987: 22.50 ft, minor flooding; 7,100 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1988: 15.49 ft, below flood stageSep 10, 1989: 16.47 ft, below flood stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1990: 25.33 ft, moderate flooding; 22,600 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1991: 20.97 ft, action stage; 3,680 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 1992: 20.28 ft, action stage; 3,230 cubic feet per secondAug 31, 1993: 23.40 ft, minor flooding; 8,690 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1994: 16.43 ft, below flood stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1995: 18.45 ft, action stage; 2,230 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1996: 23.62 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 20.29 ft, action stage; 2,700 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1998: 21.21 ft, action stage; 3,220 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1999: 20.34 ft, action stage; 3,200 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2000: 13.75 ft, below flood stage; 1,040 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2001: 17.85 ft, action stageApr 12, 2001: 15.75 ft, below flood stage; 2,070 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2002: 12.28 ft, below flood stage; 732 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 2003: 17.04 ft, action stage; 1,800 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2004: 23.05 ft, minor flooding; 7,770 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2005: 22.16 ft, minor flooding; 7,280 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2006: 12.09 ft, below flood stage; 712 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2007: 21.83 ft, action stage; 5,290 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2008: 23.91 ft, minor flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2009: 21.58 ft, action stage; 5,580 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2010: 22.50 ft, minor flooding; 6,970 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2011: 23.32 ft, minor flooding; 8,900 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2012: 22.27 ft, minor flooding; 5,040 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 2013: 22.45 ft, minor flooding; 5,780 cubic feet per secondSep 11, 2014: 25.04 ft, moderate flooding; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2015: 23.60 ft, minor flooding; 9,450 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2015: 24.00 ft, minor flooding; 11,400 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 2017: 16.25 ft, below flood stage; 2,200 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 2018: 17.67 ft, action stage; 2,410 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2019: 23.71 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 2019: 20.88 ft, action stage; 3,880 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2021: 13.37 ft, below flood stage; 1,270 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2022: 18.48 ft, action stage; 2,810 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2023: 15.36 ft, below flood stage; 1,770 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 2024: 16.53 ft, below flood stage; 2,120 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2025: 18.94 ft, action stage; 2,900 cubic feet per second Highest, 25.33 ft, Jun 17, 1990 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, North River near Norwalk 1940s: 1 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 6 1980s: 3 1990s: 3 2000s: 3 2010s: 8 8 2020s: 0 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 88 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, North River near Norwalk
1Jun 17, 199025.33+3.33Moderate22,600
2Jun 13, 194725.30+3.30Moderate32,000
3Sep 11, 201425.04+3.04Moderate18,400
4Dec 15, 201524.00+2.00Minor11,400
5Jun 13, 200823.91+1.91Minor13,500
6Mar 15, 201923.71+1.71Minor10,200
7May 11, 199623.62+1.62Minor11,100
8Jun 26, 201523.60+1.60Minor9,450
9Aug 31, 199323.40+1.40Minor8,690
10Jun 11, 201123.32+1.32Minor8,900
11Jun 10, 197423.25+1.25Minor8,500
12Apr 25, 197623.13+1.13Minor10,500
13May 26, 200423.05+1.05Minor7,770
14Jun 11, 198423.03+1.03Minor13,700
15Mar 18, 196522.86+0.86Minor8,000
16Jul 1, 195922.60+0.60Minor9,460
17Aug 28, 198722.50+0.50Minor7,100
18Jun 15, 201022.50+0.50Minor6,970
19Jun 16, 201322.45+0.45Minor5,780
20Apr 19, 197822.44+0.44Minor6,760
21Feb 21, 197122.40+0.40Minor2,200
22Apr 16, 201222.27+0.27Minor5,040
23Apr 17, 197322.23+0.23Minor5,920
24Mar 4, 197022.18+0.18Minor5,740
25May 14, 200522.16+0.16Minor7,280
26Feb 23, 198222.000.00Minor—
27Apr 4, 198321.90−0.10Action4,290
28Aug 26, 194621.87−0.13Action10,200
29Mar 21, 196221.87−0.13Action5,200
30May 8, 200721.83−0.17Action5,290
31Aug 7, 198221.78−0.22Action4,630
32Apr 28, 200921.58−0.42Action5,580
33Mar 20, 197921.57−0.43Action4,140
34Mar 20, 197521.55−0.45Action4,100
35Aug 7, 197221.47−0.53Action3,770
36Mar 19, 196921.43−0.57Action3,840
37Sep 2, 197721.38−0.62Action2,860
38Mar 19, 194821.36−0.64Action7,200
39Jun 20, 199821.21−0.79Action3,220
40Jul 5, 198121.18−0.82Action2,750
41Mar 30, 196021.00−1.00Action6,800
42Apr 20, 199120.97−1.03Action3,680
43Oct 4, 201920.88−1.12Action3,880
44Jun 23, 195220.80−1.20Action5,670
45Jul 6, 195820.77−1.23Action3,180
46May 12, 194220.62−1.38Action4,350
47May 2, 195120.52−1.48Action3,970
48Jun 18, 194320.51−1.49Action3,720
49May 27, 194420.45−1.55Action3,830
50Jun 14, 196720.45−1.55Action1,920

Other gauges in Warren County

Flood gauges in Warren County
Indianola23.025.55 ft, Jun 6, 20080
Ackworth29.032.85 ft, Jul 5, 19812

Warren County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Iowa

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NRWI4, 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.