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Illinois River near La Salle

Highest listed crest 34.44 ftFlood stage 20.0 ft55 crests since 1916

The Illinois River near La Salle crested at major flood stage 9 times among the 55 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1916 to 2020. The highest, 34.44 ft on April 20, 2013, was major flooding, 14.44 feet above flood stage. 12 other gauges on the Illinois River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 9 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
34.44 ft
April 20, 2013
Flood stage
20.0 ft
Major flooding from 31.0 ft
Crests at major
9
30th of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
May 20, 2020
33.14 ft, major flooding
Location
LaSalle County
Illinois

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Illinois River near La Salle
Action stage19.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)20.026May 1, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage27.020Feb 23, 2018Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage31.09May 20, 2020Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

55 crests from 1916 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Illinois River near La Salle, 1916 to 2020 20253035ft Flood stage 20.0 ftMajor 31.0 ft Jan 22, 1916: 30.20 ft, moderate floodingMar 13, 1922: 23.80 ft, minor floodingMay 15, 1932: 23.80 ft, minor floodingMay 22, 1943: 31.00 ft, major floodingMar 20, 1948: 27.00 ft, moderate floodingApr 26, 1950: 28.70 ft, moderate floodingFeb 20, 1951: 25.50 ft, minor floodingOct 12, 1954: 27.40 ft, moderate floodingJul 15, 1957: 26.47 ft, minor floodingMar 31, 1960: 25.90 ft, minor floodingSep 27, 1961: 25.28 ft, minor floodingMar 23, 1962: 26.47 ft, minor floodingApr 26, 1965: 23.35 ft, minor floodingMay 14, 1966: 26.45 ft, minor floodingMay 16, 1970: 30.10 ft, moderate floodingApr 24, 1973: 27.26 ft, moderate floodingMay 23, 1974: 26.66 ft, minor floodingMar 7, 1976: 27.50 ft, moderate floodingSep 19, 1977: 27.80 ft, moderate floodingMar 21, 1979: 31.75 ft, major floodingDec 5, 1982: 32.05 ft, major floodingApr 6, 1983: 26.60 ft, minor floodingMar 6, 1985: 31.70 ft, major floodingOct 5, 1986: 26.90 ft, minor floodingSep 11, 1989: 23.50 ft, minor floodingNov 29, 1990: 29.27 ft, moderate floodingJan 6, 1993: 27.18 ft, moderate floodingJul 20, 1996: 27.62 ft, moderate floodingFeb 23, 1997: 30.83 ft, moderate floodingMay 10, 1998: 28.14 ft, moderate floodingJan 26, 1999: 23.81 ft, minor floodingJul 12, 2000: 22.59 ft, minor floodingMay 14, 2002: 28.86 ft, moderate floodingJun 2, 2004: 23.86 ft, minor floodingJan 15, 2005: 28.94 ft, moderate floodingAug 26, 2007: 30.34 ft, moderate floodingSep 16, 2008: 33.79 ft, major floodingMar 12, 2009: 32.02 ft, major floodingJun 25, 2010: 25.17 ft, minor floodingApr 20, 2013: 34.44 ft, major floodingJun 24, 2015: 28.98 ft, moderate floodingDec 31, 2015: 29.73 ft, moderate floodingApr 8, 2017: 24.56 ft, minor floodingMay 2, 2017: 27.25 ft, moderate floodingJul 24, 2017: 23.02 ft, minor floodingFeb 23, 2018: 30.61 ft, moderate floodingFeb 9, 2019: 24.59 ft, minor floodingMar 16, 2019: 22.29 ft, minor floodingMay 3, 2019: 32.14 ft, major floodingJul 5, 2019: 21.89 ft, minor floodingSep 30, 2019: 26.77 ft, minor floodingNov 1, 2019: 24.56 ft, minor floodingJan 13, 2020: 23.69 ft, minor floodingMay 1, 2020: 26.54 ft, minor floodingMay 20, 2020: 33.14 ft, major flooding Highest, 34.44 ft, Apr 20, 2013 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Illinois River near La Salle 1910s: 1 1920s: 1 1930s: 1 1940s: 2 1950s: 4 1960s: 5 1970s: 6 1980s: 5 1990s: 6 2000s: 7 2010s: 14 14 2020s: 3 1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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.
  3. 7 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 24.10 ft on Jun 29, 1869; 26.90 ft on Jul 20, 1902; 29.20 ft on Mar 27, 1904; 28.60 ft on Jan 21, 1907; 28.80 ft on Mar 8, 1908; 28.00 ft on Mar 29, 1913; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 55 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Illinois River near La Salle
1Apr 20, 201334.44+14.44Major—
2Sep 16, 200833.79+13.79Major—
3May 20, 202033.14+13.14Major—
4May 3, 201932.14+12.14Major—
5Dec 5, 198232.05+12.05Major—
6Mar 12, 200932.02+12.02Major—
7Mar 21, 197931.75+11.75Major—
8Mar 6, 198531.70+11.70Major—
9May 22, 194331.00+11.00Major—
10Feb 23, 199730.83+10.83Moderate—
11Feb 23, 201830.61+10.61Moderate—
12Aug 26, 200730.34+10.34Moderate—
13Jan 22, 191630.20+10.20Moderate—
14May 16, 197030.10+10.10Moderate—
15Dec 31, 201529.73+9.73Moderate—
16Nov 29, 199029.27+9.27Moderate—
17Jun 24, 201528.98+8.98Moderate—
18Jan 15, 200528.94+8.94Moderate—
19May 14, 200228.86+8.86Moderate—
20Apr 26, 195028.70+8.70Moderate—
21May 10, 199828.14+8.14Moderate—
22Sep 19, 197727.80+7.80Moderate—
23Jul 20, 199627.62+7.62Moderate—
24Mar 7, 197627.50+7.50Moderate—
25Oct 12, 195427.40+7.40Moderate—
26Apr 24, 197327.26+7.26Moderate—
27May 2, 201727.25+7.25Moderate—
28Jan 6, 199327.18+7.18Moderate—
29Mar 20, 194827.00+7.00Moderate—
30Oct 5, 198626.90+6.90Minor—
31Sep 30, 201926.77+6.77Minor—
32May 23, 197426.66+6.66Minor—
33Apr 6, 198326.60+6.60Minor—
34May 1, 202026.54+6.54Minor—
35Jul 15, 195726.47+6.47Minor—
36Mar 23, 196226.47+6.47Minor—
37May 14, 196626.45+6.45Minor—
38Mar 31, 196025.90+5.90Minor—
39Feb 20, 195125.50+5.50Minor—
40Sep 27, 196125.28+5.28Minor—
41Jun 25, 201025.17+5.17Minor—
42Feb 9, 201924.59+4.59Minor—
43Apr 8, 201724.56+4.56Minor—
44Nov 1, 201924.56+4.56Minor—
45Jun 2, 200423.86+3.86Minor—
46Jan 26, 199923.81+3.81Minor—
47Mar 13, 192223.80+3.80Minor—
48May 15, 193223.80+3.80Minor—
49Jan 13, 202023.69+3.69Minor—
50Sep 11, 198923.50+3.50Minor—

The worst floods along the Illinois River

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

April 20, 2013: 34.44 ft here, major flooding

  • OttawaIL · Apr 19, 2013 · 473.72 ft · Major · its highest
  • Starved Rock Lock (tailwater)IL · Apr 19, 2013 · 467.81 ft · Major · its highest
  • Peoria Lock and DamIL · Apr 23, 2013 · 456.57 ft · Major · its highest
  • LaGrange Lock and DamIL · Apr 27, 2013 · 34.50 ft · Major
  • HenryIL · Apr 22, 2013 · 32.94 ft · Major · its highest
  • BeardstownIL · Apr 27, 2013 · 29.81 ft · Major · its highest
  • PeoriaIL · Apr 23, 2013 · 29.35 ft · Major · its highest
  • MeredosiaIL · Apr 27, 2013 · 28.69 ft · Major
  • HavanaIL · Apr 25, 2013 · 27.78 ft · Major · its highest
  • Valley CityIL · Apr 27, 2013 · 26.63 ft · Major

September 16, 2008: 33.79 ft here, major flooding

May 20, 2020: 33.14 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Illinois River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Illinois River
BeardstownIL14.029.81 ft, Apr 27, 201310
HardinIL25.042.40 ft, Aug 3, 199320
LaGrange Lock and DamIL23.034.66 ft, Jul 2, 201517
Marseilles Lock (tailwater)IL467.0476.72 ft, Apr 19, 20130
MeredosiaIL17.028.86 ft, Jul 2, 201523
MorrisIL16.024.91 ft, Apr 19, 201312
OttawaIL463.0473.72 ft, Apr 19, 20134
PeoriaIL18.029.35 ft, Apr 23, 20135
Peoria Lock and DamIL447.0456.57 ft, Apr 23, 20135
Starved Rock Lock (tailwater)IL450.0467.81 ft, Apr 19, 20133
Valley CityIL14.027.00 ft, May 26, 194317
HavanaIL14.027.78 ft, Apr 25, 201325
HenryIL23.032.94 ft, Apr 22, 20137
La Salle this gaugeIL20.034.44 ft, Apr 20, 20139

Other gauges in LaSalle County

Flood gauges in LaSalle County
Dayton12.036.47 ft, Jan 25, 19605
Marseilles Lock (tailwater)467.0476.72 ft, Apr 19, 20130
Ottawa463.0473.72 ft, Apr 19, 20134
Starved Rock Lock (tailwater)450.0467.81 ft, Apr 19, 20133
Leonore16.030.25 ft, Apr 18, 20132

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LSLI2, 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.