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Iroquois River near Chebanse

Highest listed crest 21.68 ftFlood stage 16.0 ft54 crests since 1926

The Iroquois River near Chebanse crested at major flood stage 3 times among the 54 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1926 to 2020. The highest, 21.68 ft on March 7, 1979, was major flooding, 5.68 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Iroquois River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
21.68 ft
March 7, 1979; 27,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
16.0 ft
Major flooding from 20.0 ft
Crests at major
3
72nd of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
February 23, 2018
20.60 ft, major flooding
Location
Kankakee County
Near Kankakee (6.7 mi), Bradley (10.8 mi), Bourbonnais (12.3 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Iroquois River near Chebanse
Action stage15.014May 3, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)16.013Jun 23, 2015Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage18.010Dec 31, 2015Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage20.03Feb 23, 2018Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

54 crests from 1926 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Iroquois River near Chebanse, 1926 to 2020 121416182022ft Flood stage 16.0 ftMajor 20.0 ft Oct 6, 1926: 18.30 ft, moderate flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1928: 14.12 ft, below flood stage; 13,400 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 1929: 14.06 ft, below flood stage; 12,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1936: 15.86 ft, action stageMar 14, 1939: 15.80 ft, action stage; 15,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1942: 17.60 ft, minor flooding; 18,900 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1943: 19.68 ft, moderate flooding; 25,100 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1944: 16.09 ft, minor flooding; 16,400 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1950: 15.01 ft, action stage; 15,200 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1951: 17.10 ft, minor flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1957: 17.53 ft, minor flooding; 19,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1958: 18.06 ft, moderate flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1959: 19.02 ft, moderate flooding; 23,500 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1962: 14.11 ft, below flood stage; 13,500 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1963: 15.95 ft, action stage; 16,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1968: 17.70 ft, minor flooding; 20,800 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1969: 13.95 ft, below flood stage; 13,200 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1970: 18.60 ft, moderate flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1973: 14.70 ft, below flood stage; 14,800 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 1974: 14.67 ft, below flood stage; 14,700 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1975: 14.48 ft, below flood stage; 14,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1976: 14.10 ft, below flood stage; 13,700 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1979: 21.68 ft, major flooding; 27,000 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1980: 16.84 ft, minor flooding; 19,400 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1981: 15.56 ft, action stage; 16,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1982: 18.96 ft, moderate flooding; 24,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1984: 15.40 ft, action stage; 16,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1985: 17.76 ft, minor flooding; 21,700 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1990: 17.74 ft, minor flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1991: 18.22 ft, moderate flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 1993: 15.88 ft, action stage; 19,500 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1994: 16.92 ft, minor flooding; 22,400 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1995: 14.15 ft, below flood stage; 15,600 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1997: 15.08 ft, action stage; 17,700 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1998: 15.88 ft, action stage; 19,700 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1999: 14.23 ft, below flood stage; 14,000 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2002: 15.45 ft, action stage; 18,600 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 2003: 14.75 ft, below flood stage; 16,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2004: 15.35 ft, action stage; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2005: 18.63 ft, moderate flooding; 23,700 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 2007: 16.12 ft, minor flooding; 19,000 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 2008: 20.14 ft, major flooding; 27,700 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2009: 17.21 ft, minor flooding; 20,400 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 2010: 14.41 ft, below flood stage; 14,400 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 2011: 15.10 ft, action stage; 15,800 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2012: 14.05 ft, below flood stage; 13,700 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2013: 15.41 ft, action stage; 16,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2014: 16.33 ft, minor flooding; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2015: 17.13 ft, minor flooding; 20,300 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 2015: 18.79 ft, moderate flooding; 24,200 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 2015: 18.70 ft, moderate flooding; 24,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2018: 20.60 ft, major flooding; 28,900 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 2019: 15.70 ft, action stage; 17,100 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2020: 14.93 ft, below flood stage; 15,100 cubic feet per second Highest, 21.68 ft, Mar 7, 1979 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Iroquois River near Chebanse 1920s: 1 1930s: 0 1940s: 3 1950s: 4 1960s: 1 1970s: 2 1980s: 3 1990s: 3 2000s: 4 2010s: 5 5 2020s: 0 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 54 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Iroquois River near Chebanse
1Mar 7, 197921.68+5.68Major27,000
2Feb 23, 201820.60+4.60Major28,900
3Jan 11, 200820.14+4.14Major27,700
4May 20, 194319.68+3.68Moderate25,100
5Feb 13, 195919.02+3.02Moderate23,500
6Feb 24, 198218.96+2.96Moderate24,700
7Jul 14, 201518.79+2.79Moderate24,200
8Dec 31, 201518.70+2.70Moderate24,000
9Jan 15, 200518.63+2.63Moderate23,700
10May 15, 197018.60+2.60Moderate23,200
11Oct 6, 192618.30+2.30Moderate21,800
12Jan 1, 199118.22+2.22Moderate23,200
13Jun 15, 195818.06+2.06Moderate21,800
14Feb 25, 198517.76+1.76Minor21,700
15Mar 13, 199017.74+1.74Minor23,200
16Feb 4, 196817.70+1.70Minor20,800
17Feb 9, 194217.60+1.60Minor18,900
18Jul 15, 195717.53+1.53Minor19,900
19Mar 13, 200917.21+1.21Minor20,400
20Jun 23, 201517.13+1.13Minor20,300
21Jul 11, 195117.10+1.10Minor19,100
22Apr 15, 199416.92+0.92Minor22,400
23Jun 5, 198016.84+0.84Minor19,400
24Feb 23, 201416.33+0.33Minor18,400
25Mar 26, 200716.12+0.12Minor19,000
26Apr 14, 194416.09+0.09Minor16,400
27Mar 8, 196315.95−0.05Action16,500
28Jan 7, 199315.88−0.12Action19,500
29May 10, 199815.88−0.12Action19,700
30Feb 28, 193615.86−0.14Action—
31Mar 14, 193915.80−0.20Action15,700
32May 3, 201915.70−0.30Action17,100
33May 15, 198115.56−0.44Action16,700
34May 13, 200215.45−0.55Action18,600
35Apr 21, 201315.41−0.59Action16,500
36Feb 15, 198415.40−0.60Action16,400
37Jun 15, 200415.35−0.65Action18,400
38Apr 29, 201115.10−0.90Action15,800
39Mar 1, 199715.08−0.92Action17,700
40Jan 27, 195015.01−0.99Action15,200
41May 19, 202014.93−1.07Below flood stage15,100
42Jul 13, 200314.75−1.25Below flood stage16,900
43Apr 24, 197314.70−1.30Below flood stage14,800
44Jan 24, 197414.67−1.33Below flood stage14,700
45Jan 12, 197514.48−1.52Below flood stage14,400
46Jun 25, 201014.41−1.59Below flood stage14,400
47Jan 27, 199914.23−1.77Below flood stage14,000
48May 27, 199514.15−1.85Below flood stage15,600
49Jul 5, 192814.12−1.88Below flood stage13,400
50Mar 24, 196214.11−1.89Below flood stage13,500

The worst floods along the Iroquois River

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

March 7, 1979: 21.68 ft here, major flooding

  • RensselaerIN · Mar 5, 1979 · 15.15 ft · Major
  • IroquoisIL · Mar 5, 1979 · 23.81 ft · Minor

February 23, 2018: 20.60 ft here, major flooding

  • IroquoisIL · Feb 22, 2018 · 26.17 ft · Major
  • ForesmanIN · Feb 22, 2018 · 24.39 ft · Major
  • RensselaerIN · Feb 22, 2018 · 17.04 ft · Major · its highest

January 11, 2008: 20.14 ft here, major flooding

  • IroquoisIL · Jan 9, 2008 · 25.81 ft · Major
  • ForesmanIN · Jan 10, 2008 · 24.16 ft · Major
  • RensselaerIN · Jan 10, 2008 · 15.11 ft · Major

Gauges on the Iroquois River

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

Flood gauges on the Iroquois River
RensselaerIN12.017.04 ft, Feb 22, 201810
ForesmanIN18.024.87 ft, Jul 11, 20034
IroquoisIL18.026.31 ft, Jun 13, 19586
Chebanse this gaugeIL16.021.68 ft, Mar 7, 19793

Other gauges in Kankakee County

Flood gauges in Kankakee County
Momence5.010.51 ft, Mar 6, 19792

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CHBI2, 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.