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Wapsipinicon River at Independence

Highest listed crest 22.35 ftFlood stage 12.0 ft90 crests since 1934

The Wapsipinicon River at Independence crested at major flood stage 19 times among the 90 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1934 to 2021. The highest, 22.35 ft on May 18, 1999, was major flooding, 10.35 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Wapsipinicon River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
22.35 ft
May 18, 1999; 31,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
12.0 ft
Major flooding from 15.0 ft
Crests at major
19
13th of 203 gauges in Iowa
Most recent flood crest
September 1, 2021
14.77 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Buchanan County
Iowa

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Wapsipinicon River at Independence
Action stage10.016Apr 27, 2009The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)12.07Jun 10, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.011Sep 1, 2021Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage15.019Sep 5, 2018Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

90 crests from 1934 to 2021. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Wapsipinicon River at Independence, 1934 to 2021 510152025ft Flood stage 12.0 ftMajor 15.0 ft Apr 11, 1934: 5.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,010 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1935: 11.40 ft, action stage; 7,220 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1936: 11.10 ft, action stage; 6,900 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1937: 12.00 ft, minor flooding; 7,900 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 1938: 8.40 ft, below flood stage; 3,990 cubic feet per secondNov 9, 1938: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 2,790 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 1940: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 2,540 cubic feet per secondSep 8, 1941: 10.13 ft, action stage; 5,250 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1942: 13.46 ft, moderate flooding; 9,060 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1943: 8.59 ft, below flood stage; 4,090 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1944: 15.64 ft, major flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1945: 13.95 ft, moderate flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 1946: 13.36 ft, moderate flooding; 9,910 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1947: 18.74 ft, major flooding; 21,500 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1948: 13.33 ft, moderate flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1949: 10.78 ft, action stage; 7,420 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1950: 12.82 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1951: 18.20 ft, major flooding; 20,800 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1952: 9.76 ft, below flood stage; 6,460 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1953: 9.72 ft, below flood stage; 6,350 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1954: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 2,780 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1955: 6.35 ft, below flood stage; 1,560 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1956: 6.77 ft, below flood stage; 2,100 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1957: 7.79 ft, below flood stage; 3,270 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1958: 6.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,210 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1959: 13.67 ft, moderate flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1960: 15.63 ft, major flooding; 15,200 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1961: 16.11 ft, major flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1962: 15.43 ft, major flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1963: 8.05 ft, below flood stage; 3,450 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1964: 6.67 ft, below flood stage; 1,830 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 1965: 12.19 ft, minor flooding; 8,880 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1966: 10.27 ft, action stage; 6,250 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1967: 7.88 ft, below flood stage; 3,340 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1968: 21.11 ft, major flooding; 26,800 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1969: 15.76 ft, major flooding; 14,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1970: 9.01 ft, below flood stage; 4,910 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1971: 10.29 ft, action stage; 6,580 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 1972: 11.50 ft, action stage; 8,200 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1973: 12.57 ft, minor flooding; 9,760 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1974: 9.86 ft, below flood stage; 6,020 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1975: 11.06 ft, action stage; 7,580 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1976: 11.07 ft, action stage; 7,600 cubic feet per secondSep 27, 1977: 5.94 ft, below flood stage; 1,100 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 1978: 9.54 ft, below flood stage; 5,630 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1979: 17.31 ft, major flooding; 16,300 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1980: 10.76 ft, action stage; 7,380 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 1981: 11.37 ft, action stage; 8,020 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1982: 11.54 ft, action stage; 8,260 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1983: 11.11 ft, action stage; 7,650 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1984: 9.45 ft, below flood stage; 5,490 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1985: 7.57 ft, below flood stage; 3,090 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1986: 13.57 ft, moderate flooding; 11,300 cubic feet per secondOct 18, 1986: 7.73 ft, below flood stage; 3,300 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1988: 6.60 ft, below flood stage; 1,820 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1989: 7.03 ft, below flood stage; 2,390 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 1990: 20.30 ft, major flooding; 24,400 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1991: 12.14 ft, minor flooding; 9,110 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1992: 8.67 ft, below flood stage; 4,920 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1993: 14.90 ft, moderate flooding; 13,400 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1994: 7.64 ft, below flood stage; 3,440 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1995: 7.43 ft, below flood stage; 2,970 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1996: 7.81 ft, below flood stage; 3,610 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1997: 8.17 ft, below flood stage; 4,100 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1998: 11.79 ft, action stage; 8,990 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1999: 22.35 ft, major flooding; 31,100 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 1999: 18.80 ft, major flooding; 20,900 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2000: 11.36 ft, action stage; 8,450 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2001: 9.56 ft, below flood stage; 6,610 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2002: 9.99 ft, below flood stage; 7,150 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 2003: 8.70 ft, below flood stage; 5,060 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2004: 18.00 ft, major flooding; 22,600 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2005: 7.37 ft, below flood stage; 3,530 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2006: 7.94 ft, below flood stage; 4,010 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 2007: 12.63 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2008: 17.97 ft, major floodingJun 11, 2008: 18.86 ft, major flooding; 23,700 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2009: 10.48 ft, action stage; 8,370 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 2010: 18.77 ft, major flooding; 22,800 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2011: 9.40 ft, below flood stage; 6,640 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2012: 6.84 ft, below flood stage; 2,520 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2013: 14.46 ft, moderate flooding; 15,300 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2014: 13.21 ft, moderate flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2015: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 3,340 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2016: 19.29 ft, major flooding; 25,200 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 2017: 15.43 ft, major flooding; 17,800 cubic feet per secondSep 5, 2018: 16.86 ft, major flooding; 19,700 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2019: 13.37 ft, moderate flooding; 13,200 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 2020: 12.01 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondSep 1, 2021: 14.77 ft, moderate flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per second Highest, 22.35 ft, May 18, 1999 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Wapsipinicon River at Independence 1930s: 1 1940s: 6 1950s: 3 1960s: 6 1970s: 2 1980s: 1 1990s: 5 2000s: 4 2010s: 7 7 2020s: 2 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 90 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Wapsipinicon River at Independence
1May 18, 199922.35+10.35Major31,100
2Jul 18, 196821.11+9.11Major26,800
3Aug 26, 199020.30+8.30Major24,400
4Sep 25, 201619.29+7.29Major25,200
5Jun 11, 200818.86+6.86Major23,700
6Jul 24, 199918.80+6.80Major20,900
7Jul 24, 201018.77+6.77Major22,800
8Jun 14, 194718.74+6.74Major21,500
9Apr 30, 195118.20+6.20Major20,800
10May 23, 200418.00+6.00Major22,600
11Apr 26, 200817.97+5.97Major—
12Aug 30, 197917.31+5.31Major16,300
13Sep 5, 201816.86+4.86Major19,700
14Mar 29, 196116.11+4.11Major15,700
15Jul 2, 196915.76+3.76Major14,900
16Jun 17, 194415.64+3.64Major13,800
17Mar 30, 196015.63+3.63Major15,200
18Mar 31, 196215.43+3.43Major14,400
19Jul 23, 201715.43+3.43Major17,800
20Apr 3, 199314.90+2.90Moderate13,400
21Sep 1, 202114.77+2.77Moderate15,700
22May 31, 201314.46+2.46Moderate15,300
23Mar 18, 194513.95+1.95Moderate10,900
24Mar 27, 195913.67+1.67Moderate11,800
25Mar 20, 198613.57+1.57Moderate11,300
26Jun 12, 194213.46+1.46Moderate9,060
27Mar 15, 201913.37+1.37Moderate13,200
28Jan 6, 194613.36+1.36Moderate9,910
29Mar 20, 194813.33+1.33Moderate11,100
30Jun 20, 201413.21+1.21Moderate13,000
31Mar 7, 195012.82+0.82Minor10,300
32Aug 26, 200712.63+0.63Minor10,600
33Apr 17, 197312.57+0.57Minor9,760
34Apr 7, 196512.19+0.19Minor8,880
35Apr 15, 199112.14+0.14Minor9,110
36Jun 10, 202012.01+0.01Minor10,900
37Mar 8, 193712.000.00Minor7,900
38Apr 1, 199811.79−0.21Action8,990
39Mar 20, 198211.54−0.46Action8,260
40Sep 30, 197211.50−0.50Action8,200
41Mar 5, 193511.40−0.60Action7,220
42Sep 2, 198111.37−0.63Action8,020
43Jun 1, 200011.36−0.64Action8,450
44Jul 4, 198311.11−0.89Action7,650
45Mar 12, 193611.10−0.90Action6,900
46Apr 22, 197611.07−0.93Action7,600
47Mar 22, 197511.06−0.94Action7,580
48Mar 6, 194910.78−1.22Action7,420
49Aug 16, 198010.76−1.24Action7,380
50Apr 27, 200910.48−1.52Action8,370

The worst floods along the Wapsipinicon River

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

May 18, 1999: 22.35 ft here, major flooding

  • DeWittIA · May 24, 1999 · 13.66 ft · Major

July 18, 1968: 21.11 ft here, major flooding

August 26, 1990: 20.30 ft here, major flooding

  • DeWittIA · Sep 1, 1990 · 13.06 ft · Major

Gauges on the Wapsipinicon River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Wapsipinicon River
TripoliIA15.018.51 ft, Aug 29, 20215
Independence this gaugeIA12.022.35 ft, May 18, 199919
Anamosa Shaw RdIA14.526.18 ft, Jun 13, 20087
DeWittIA11.014.32 ft, Jul 2, 201437

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge IDPI4, 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.