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Kaskaskia River at Carlyle

Highest listed crest 33.69 ftFlood stage 16.5 ft88 crests since 1908

The Kaskaskia River at Carlyle crested at major flood stage 9 times among the 88 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1908 to 2026. The highest, 33.69 ft on May 21, 1943, was major flooding, 17.19 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Kaskaskia River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
33.69 ft
May 21, 1943; 54,400 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
16.5 ft
Major flooding from 27.0 ft
Crests at major
9
30th of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
March 16, 2026
20.48 ft, minor flooding
Location
Clinton County
Near Centralia (14.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Kaskaskia River at Carlyle
Action stage15.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)16.545Mar 16, 2026Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage23.033May 27, 2002Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage27.09May 10, 1961Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

88 crests from 1908 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Kaskaskia River at Carlyle, 1908 to 2026 010203040ft Flood stage 16.5 ftMajor 27.0 ft May 9, 1908: 30.80 ft, major flooding; 37,400 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1939: 25.92 ft, moderate flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1940: 21.61 ft, minor flooding; 5,510 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1941: 19.79 ft, minor flooding; 4,540 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 1942: 24.98 ft, moderate flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1943: 33.69 ft, major flooding; 54,400 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1944: 27.72 ft, major flooding; 24,800 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1945: 27.86 ft, major flooding; 25,600 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1946: 24.83 ft, moderate flooding; 14,100 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1947: 24.32 ft, moderate flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1948: 27.09 ft, major flooding; 22,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1949: 27.01 ft, major flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 1950: 31.17 ft, major flooding; 40,700 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1951: 25.95 ft, moderate flooding; 17,500 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1952: 23.70 ft, moderate flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1953: 20.00 ft, minor flooding; 4,300 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 1954: 9.58 ft, below flood stage; 730 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1955: 20.45 ft, minor flooding; 4,620 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1956: 22.66 ft, minor flooding; 7,640 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1957: 30.56 ft, major flooding; 33,400 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1958: 24.76 ft, moderate flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1959: 26.55 ft, moderate flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1960: 26.75 ft, moderate flooding; 19,300 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1961: 31.12 ft, major flooding; 34,400 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1962: 26.20 ft, moderate flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1963: 23.41 ft, moderate flooding; 9,000 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1964: 23.21 ft, moderate flooding; 8,500 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1965: 21.58 ft, minor flooding; 5,350 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1966: 24.23 ft, moderate flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondDec 14, 1966: 25.30 ft, moderate flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1970: 25.04 ft, moderate flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1975: 23.96 ft, moderate flooding; 9,520 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1976: 22.20 ft, minor flooding; 6,580 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1977: 23.57 ft, moderate flooding; 8,630 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1978: 24.12 ft, moderate flooding; 9,720 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1979: 23.96 ft, moderate flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1980: 22.44 ft, minor flooding; 6,850 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1981: 17.85 ft, minor flooding; 3,720 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1982: 23.50 ft, moderate flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1982: 23.38 ft, moderate flooding; 9,880 cubic feet per secondDec 11, 1983: 23.52 ft, moderate flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1985: 23.50 ft, moderate flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1985: 23.48 ft, moderate flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1987: 18.94 ft, minor flooding; 4,370 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1988: 23.44 ft, moderate flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1989: 22.01 ft, minor flooding; 7,120 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1990: 23.41 ft, moderate flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1991: 23.43 ft, moderate flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1991: 17.99 ft, minor flooding; 4,340 cubic feet per secondJan 28, 1993: 23.39 ft, moderate flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1994: 23.30 ft, moderate flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1995: 22.04 ft, minor flooding; 5,700 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1996: 23.34 ft, moderate flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1997: 23.26 ft, moderate flooding; 12,100 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1998: 23.39 ft, moderate flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1999: 22.87 ft, minor flooding; 9,640 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2000: 19.29 ft, minor flooding; 5,180 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2001: 22.44 ft, minor flooding; 9,110 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2002: 23.72 ft, moderate flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2003: 16.68 ft, minor flooding; 3,760 cubic feet per secondJan 8, 2004: 22.22 ft, minor flooding; 8,500 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 2005: 22.97 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 2006: 21.37 ft, minor flooding; 7,140 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 2007: 21.60 ft, minor flooding; 7,600 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2008: 22.79 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2009: 22.35 ft, minor flooding; 9,240 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 2010: 22.98 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2011: 22.92 ft, minor flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 2012: 21.83 ft, minor flooding; 8,080 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2013: 22.85 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2014: 21.64 ft, minor flooding; 8,290 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 2015: 21.25 ft, minor flooding; 7,540 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2016: 22.59 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2017: 22.73 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2018: 22.13 ft, minor flooding; 8,730 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2018: 22.72 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2019: 22.97 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 2020: 22.88 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 2021: 22.65 ft, minor flooding; 9,990 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2022: 19.08 ft, minor flooding; 5,300 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 2022: 22.71 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 2022: 16.91 ft, minor flooding; 4,300 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 2023: 21.85 ft, minor flooding; 8,490 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 2024: 21.40 ft, minor flooding; 7,760 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2024: 17.44 ft, minor flooding; 4,530 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2024: 17.09 ft, minor flooding; 4,380 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2025: 22.90 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2026: 20.48 ft, minor flooding; 6,190 cubic feet per second Highest, 33.69 ft, May 21, 1943 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Kaskaskia River at Carlyle 1900s: 1 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 1 1940s: 10 1950s: 9 1960s: 8 1970s: 6 1980s: 10 1990s: 10 2000s: 10 2010s: 11 11 2020s: 11 1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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. 14 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 25.40 ft on Apr 18, 1909; 24.80 ft on Mar 3, 1910; 21.80 ft on May 5, 1911; 27.20 ft on Oct 7, 1911; 30.70 ft on Aug 24, 1915; 27.50 ft on Jan 17, 1930; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 88 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Kaskaskia River at Carlyle
1May 21, 194333.69+17.19Major54,400
2Jan 7, 195031.17+14.67Major40,700
3May 10, 196131.12+14.62Major34,400
4May 9, 190830.80+14.30Major37,400
5Jul 2, 195730.56+14.06Major33,400
6Apr 4, 194527.86+11.36Major25,600
7Apr 26, 194427.72+11.22Major24,800
8May 29, 194827.09+10.59Major22,800
9Feb 18, 194927.01+10.51Major21,200
10Jul 3, 196026.75+10.25Moderate19,300
11Feb 15, 195926.55+10.05Moderate18,600
12Mar 25, 196226.20+9.70Moderate17,100
13Jul 2, 195125.95+9.45Moderate17,500
14Mar 17, 193925.92+9.42Moderate17,600
15Dec 14, 196625.30+8.80Moderate12,700
16May 8, 197025.04+8.54Moderate10,200
17Jul 16, 194224.98+8.48Moderate12,500
18May 21, 194624.83+8.33Moderate14,100
19Aug 7, 195824.76+8.26Moderate12,300
20May 2, 194724.32+7.82Moderate12,400
21May 23, 196624.23+7.73Moderate10,100
22Mar 21, 197824.12+7.62Moderate9,720
23Jan 19, 197523.96+7.46Moderate9,520
24Apr 15, 197923.96+7.46Moderate10,700
25May 27, 200223.72+7.22Moderate13,500
26Mar 14, 195223.70+7.20Moderate10,400
27Mar 31, 197723.57+7.07Moderate8,630
28Dec 11, 198323.52+7.02Moderate10,200
29Feb 24, 198223.50+7.00Moderate10,200
30Jan 15, 198523.50+7.00Moderate10,200
31Dec 18, 198523.48+6.98Moderate10,100
32Feb 4, 198823.44+6.94Moderate10,000
33Jan 31, 199123.43+6.93Moderate10,700
34May 22, 196323.41+6.91Moderate9,000
35May 31, 199023.41+6.91Moderate10,700
36Jan 28, 199323.39+6.89Moderate10,900
37Apr 10, 199823.39+6.89Moderate12,200
38Dec 18, 198223.38+6.88Moderate9,880
39May 10, 199623.34+6.84Moderate12,300
40Apr 21, 199423.30+6.80Moderate11,600
41Mar 17, 199723.26+6.76Moderate12,100
42May 3, 196423.21+6.71Moderate8,500
43Jan 4, 201022.98+6.48Minor10,900
44Jan 19, 200522.97+6.47Minor10,700
45Feb 7, 201922.97+6.47Minor10,900
46Mar 14, 201122.92+6.42Minor10,800
47Apr 19, 202522.90+6.40Minor10,700
48Jan 18, 202022.88+6.38Minor10,600
49Feb 3, 199922.87+6.37Minor9,640
50Apr 26, 201322.85+6.35Minor10,600

The worst floods along the Kaskaskia River

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

May 21, 1943: 33.69 ft here, major flooding

  • VandaliaIL · May 18, 1943 · 24.25 ft · Moderate
  • ShelbyvilleIL · May 19, 1943 · 556.95 ft · Minor

January 7, 1950: 31.17 ft here, major flooding

  • VandaliaIL · Jan 4, 1950 · 27.10 ft · Major
  • ShelbyvilleIL · Jan 5, 1950 · 556.41 ft · Minor

May 10, 1961: 31.12 ft here, major flooding

  • VandaliaIL · May 9, 1961 · 24.90 ft · Moderate
  • ShelbyvilleIL · May 12, 1961 · 552.31 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Kaskaskia River

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

Flood gauges on the Kaskaskia River
ShelbyvilleIL549.0558.15 ft, Jun 29, 19571
CowdenIL15.020.36 ft, May 12, 20020
VandaliaIL18.028.27 ft, May 8, 200221
Carlyle this gaugeIL16.533.69 ft, May 21, 19439
Carlyle Dam TailwaterIL423.5428.20 ft, Dec 15, 19660
New AthensIL79.095.63 ft, Jan 2, 201610

Other gauges in Clinton County

Flood gauges in Clinton County
Carlyle Dam Tailwater423.5428.20 ft, Dec 15, 19660

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge KCAI2, 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.