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Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling

Highest listed crest 8.46 ftFlood stage 5.0 ft75 crests since 1954

The Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling crested at major flood stage 6 times among the 75 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1954 to 2020. The highest, 8.46 ft on June 26, 2013, was major flooding, 3.46 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
8.46 ft
June 26, 2013; 1,170 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
5.0 ft
Major flooding from 7.5 ft
Crests at major
6
48th of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
May 17, 2020
7.42 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Cook County
Near Buffalo Grove (1.0 mi), Wheeling (2.4 mi), Prospect Heights (3.6 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling
Action stage4.58Mar 28, 2020The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)5.036Apr 29, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage6.523May 17, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage7.56Jul 12, 2017Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

75 crests from 1954 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling, 1954 to 2020 456789ft Flood stage 5.0 ftMajor 7.5 ft Apr 25, 1954: 5.40 ft, minor flooding; 268 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1954: 4.62 ft, action stage; 161 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1957: 6.26 ft, minor flooding; 430 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1960: 5.60 ft, minor flooding; 457 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1961: 4.82 ft, action stage; 370 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1962: 5.04 ft, minor flooding; 318 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 1964: 4.86 ft, action stage; 264 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1965: 4.82 ft, action stage; 274 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1966: 5.19 ft, minor flooding; 343 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 6.96 ft, moderate flooding; 758 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1968: 6.49 ft, minor flooding; 617 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1969: 6.03 ft, minor flooding; 335 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1970: 7.20 ft, moderate flooding; 600 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1971: 5.82 ft, minor flooding; 350 cubic feet per secondAug 25, 1972: 7.27 ft, moderate flooding; 802 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1973: 6.61 ft, moderate flooding; 454 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1974: 6.34 ft, minor flooding; 424 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1975: 6.18 ft, minor flooding; 388 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1976: 6.51 ft, moderate flooding; 458 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1978: 6.10 ft, minor flooding; 372 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1979: 6.26 ft, minor flooding; 409 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1980: 6.98 ft, moderate flooding; 571 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1981: 7.07 ft, moderate flooding; 597 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1982: 7.94 ft, major flooding; 887 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1982: 6.94 ft, moderate flooding; 610 cubic feet per secondOct 22, 1983: 5.86 ft, minor flooding; 382 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1985: 6.20 ft, minor flooding; 455 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 1985: 6.87 ft, moderate flooding; 596 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1987: 7.34 ft, moderate flooding; 717 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1988: 5.29 ft, minor flooding; 308 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1989: 5.98 ft, minor flooding; 352 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1990: 6.94 ft, moderate flooding; 613 cubic feet per secondNov 27, 1990: 5.81 ft, minor flooding; 374 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 1991: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 213 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1993: 5.11 ft, minor flooding; 287 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1994: 6.15 ft, minor flooding; 437 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1995: 5.62 ft, minor flooding; 337 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1996: 7.16 ft, moderate flooding; 670 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 6.61 ft, moderate flooding; 541 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1998: 5.05 ft, minor flooding; 272 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1999: 6.99 ft, moderate flooding; 621 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2000: 5.05 ft, minor flooding; 272 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 2001: 7.25 ft, moderate flooding; 680 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2001: 7.51 ft, major flooding; 742 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 2003: 4.33 ft, below flood stage; 193 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2004: 6.38 ft, minor flooding; 495 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2005: 4.85 ft, action stage; 247 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2006: 5.49 ft, minor flooding; 338 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 2007: 7.83 ft, major flooding; 830 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 2008: 7.18 ft, moderate flooding; 664 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 2008: 6.11 ft, minor flooding; 444 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2010: 6.92 ft, moderate flooding; 596 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 2011: 7.56 ft, major flooding; 752 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2012: 4.64 ft, action stage; 218 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2013: 8.46 ft, major flooding; 1,170 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 2014: 6.96 ft, moderate flooding; 691 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 2017: 5.18 ft, minor flooding; 338 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2017: 5.52 ft, minor flooding; 395 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2017: 6.58 ft, moderate flooding; 604 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2017: 5.95 ft, minor flooding; 474 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2017: 7.83 ft, major flooding; 916 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 2017: 5.98 ft, minor flooding; 479 cubic feet per secondOct 14, 2017: 7.19 ft, moderate flooding; 747 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2018: 5.25 ft, minor flooding; 348 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2018: 5.29 ft, minor flooding; 368 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2018: 5.52 ft, minor flooding; 403 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2018: 6.86 ft, moderate flooding; 667 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2019: 5.64 ft, minor flooding; 467 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2019: 6.47 ft, minor flooding; 620 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 2019: 4.73 ft, action stage; 322 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 2019: 6.20 ft, minor flooding; 567 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2019: 7.00 ft, moderate flooding; 730 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 2020: 4.78 ft, action stage; 244 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 2020: 5.16 ft, minor flooding; 297 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2020: 7.42 ft, moderate flooding; 691 cubic feet per second Highest, 8.46 ft, Jun 26, 2013 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling 1950s: 2 1960s: 6 1970s: 9 1980s: 10 1990s: 9 2000s: 8 2010s: 19 19 2020s: 2 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, Buffalo Creek (IL) at Wheeling
1Jun 26, 20138.46+3.46Major1,170
2Jul 22, 19827.94+2.94Major887
3Aug 23, 20077.83+2.83Major830
4Jul 12, 20177.83+2.83Major916
5Jul 23, 20117.56+2.56Major752
6Oct 13, 20017.51+2.51Major742
7May 17, 20207.42+2.42Moderate691
8Aug 14, 19877.34+2.34Moderate717
9Aug 25, 19727.27+2.27Moderate802
10Sep 19, 20017.25+2.25Moderate680
11Jun 2, 19707.20+2.20Moderate600
12Oct 14, 20177.19+2.19Moderate747
13Sep 14, 20087.18+2.18Moderate664
14May 17, 19967.16+2.16Moderate670
15Aug 14, 19817.07+2.07Moderate597
16Sep 13, 20197.00+2.00Moderate730
17Jun 13, 19996.99+1.99Moderate621
18Sep 9, 19806.98+1.98Moderate571
19Jun 10, 19676.96+1.96Moderate758
20Jun 30, 20146.96+1.96Moderate691
21Dec 2, 19826.94+1.94Moderate610
22Aug 18, 19906.94+1.94Moderate613
23May 13, 20106.92+1.92Moderate596
24Nov 19, 19856.87+1.87Moderate596
25Sep 3, 20186.86+1.86Moderate667
26Apr 22, 19736.61+1.61Moderate454
27Feb 21, 19976.61+1.61Moderate541
28May 1, 20176.58+1.58Moderate604
29Mar 4, 19766.51+1.51Moderate458
30Aug 16, 19686.49+1.49Minor617
31Jun 5, 20196.47+1.47Minor620
32May 20, 20046.38+1.38Minor495
33Jan 27, 19746.34+1.34Minor424
34Jul 12, 19576.26+1.26Minor430
35Apr 11, 19796.26+1.26Minor409
36Mar 4, 19856.20+1.20Minor455
37Jul 21, 20196.20+1.20Minor567
38Apr 27, 19756.18+1.18Minor388
39Jun 23, 19946.15+1.15Minor437
40Dec 27, 20086.11+1.11Minor444
41Jul 2, 19786.10+1.10Minor372
42Jun 8, 19696.03+1.03Minor335
43Aug 4, 19895.98+0.98Minor352
44Jul 21, 20175.98+0.98Minor479
45Jun 28, 20175.95+0.95Minor474
46Oct 22, 19835.86+0.86Minor382
47Feb 18, 19715.82+0.82Minor350
48Nov 27, 19905.81+0.81Minor374
49May 2, 20195.64+0.64Minor467
50Apr 26, 19955.62+0.62Minor337

Other gauges in Cook County

Flood gauges in Cook County
Bellwood9.013.57 ft, Jul 24, 20104
Flossmoor9.013.08 ft, Apr 17, 20060
Markham10.012.00 ft, Oct 11, 19542
Chicago (Columbus Dr)3.05.50 ft, Oct 10, 19542
Chicago (Western Ave)4.05.26 ft, May 17, 20200
Chicago Heights10.012.87 ft, Sep 15, 20080
Des Plaines (Algonquin Road)13.021.00 ft, Sep 14, 20082
Lyons18.022.87 ft, Apr 18, 20132
River Forest16.018.98 ft, Apr 19, 20131
Riverside7.511.28 ft, Apr 18, 20137
Des Plaines15.020.92 ft, Apr 19, 20135
Lemont10.013.24 ft, May 18, 20200
Willow Springs10.010.57 ft, Apr 18, 20130
Lake Michigan at Calumet Harbor5.06.07 ft, Aug 11, 20200
Lake Michigan at Chicago (Chicago Lock)4.05.98 ft, Apr 29, 20200
Lansing7.010.18 ft, Oct 11, 19540
South Holland16.020.50 ft, Nov 28, 19905
Lemont6.011.10 ft, Jul 18, 19961
Mount Prospect5.08.08 ft, Aug 14, 19872
Oak Forest6.09.50 ft, Apr 5, 19472
Midlothian8.59.98 ft, Feb 2, 20160
Chicago (Grand Ave)3.05.70 ft, Oct 10, 19543
Chicago (Pulaski Rd)18.022.50 ft, Aug 14, 19871
Niles10.012.13 ft, Sep 14, 20082
Elgin5.57.69 ft, Sep 13, 20080
Elk Grove Village17.020.80 ft, May 18, 20200
Rolling Meadows8.514.03 ft, Aug 14, 19870
Western Springs7.510.65 ft, Apr 18, 20130
Worth31.036.50 ft, Oct 11, 19542
Glenwood8.511.14 ft, Jul 13, 19570
Thornton9.017.06 ft, Jun 14, 19816
Palos Park9.010.30 ft, Oct 10, 19540
Des Plaines9.015.09 ft, Jun 10, 19677
Northbrook7.010.10 ft, Aug 14, 19877

Cook County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Illinois

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WHEI2, 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.