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North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield

Highest listed crest 12.75 ftFlood stage 9.5 ft81 crests since 1953

The North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield crested above flood stage 48 times among the 81 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1953 to 2020. The highest, 12.75 ft on July 13, 2017, was moderate flooding, 3.25 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
12.75 ft
July 13, 2017; 1,460 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
9.5 ft
Major flooding from 13.5 ft
Crests at major
0
48 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
May 17, 2020
11.01 ft, minor flooding
Location
Lake County
Near Northbrook (1.9 mi), Deerfield (2.0 mi), Highland Park (2.1 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield
Action stage8.524Mar 14, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.543May 17, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage11.55Sep 13, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage13.50—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

81 crests from 1953 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield, 1953 to 2020 468101214ft Flood stage 9.5 ftMajor 13.5 ft Mar 15, 1953: 7.43 ft, below flood stage; 79 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1954: 9.35 ft, action stage; 247 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1955: 9.36 ft, action stage; 247 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1956: 9.06 ft, action stage; 207 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1957: 9.59 ft, minor flooding; 284 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1958: 8.81 ft, action stage; 178 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1959: 9.63 ft, minor flooding; 292 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1960: 9.59 ft, minor flooding; 284 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1961: 8.80 ft, action stage; 178 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1962: 8.86 ft, action stage; 268 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1963: 8.10 ft, below flood stage; 134 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1964: 8.46 ft, below flood stage; 228 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1965: 8.58 ft, action stage; 208 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1966: 9.08 ft, action stage; 311 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 9.46 ft, action stage; 386 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1968: 8.37 ft, below flood stage; 173 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1969: 9.38 ft, action stage; 359 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1970: 9.07 ft, action stage; 268 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1971: 9.32 ft, action stage; 341 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1972: 10.34 ft, minor flooding; 368 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1973: 10.25 ft, minor flooding; 390 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1974: 10.18 ft, minor flooding; 362 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1976: 9.72 ft, minor flooding; 550 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1977: 5.96 ft, below flood stage; 58 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1978: 8.84 ft, action stage; 292 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1979: 9.42 ft, action stage; 358 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1980: 8.37 ft, below flood stage; 237 cubic feet per secondAug 15, 1981: 9.34 ft, action stage; 348 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1982: 10.93 ft, minor flooding; 756 cubic feet per secondDec 3, 1982: 10.78 ft, minor flooding; 702 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1984: 9.69 ft, minor flooding; 415 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1985: 10.71 ft, minor flooding; 678 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 1986: 10.51 ft, minor flooding; 465 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1987: 11.52 ft, moderate flooding; 933 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1988: 8.71 ft, action stage; 273 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1989: 8.10 ft, below flood stage; 210 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1990: 10.24 ft, minor flooding; 557 cubic feet per secondNov 28, 1990: 9.75 ft, minor flooding; 462 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 1991: 7.91 ft, below flood stage; 198 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1993: 9.79 ft, minor flooding; 469 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1994: 10.39 ft, minor flooding; 590 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1995: 10.26 ft, minor flooding; 561 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1996: 10.25 ft, minor flooding; 559 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 10.83 ft, minor flooding; 630 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1998: 8.34 ft, below flood stage; 239 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1999: 10.63 ft, minor flooding; 590 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2000: 9.78 ft, minor flooding; 437 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 2001: 10.35 ft, minor flooding; 537 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2001: 11.55 ft, moderate flooding; 787 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2003: 8.91 ft, action stage; 309 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2004: 9.45 ft, action stage; 386 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2005: 9.40 ft, action stage; 377 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2006: 9.26 ft, action stage; 356 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 2007: 10.29 ft, minor flooding; 513 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2008: 11.39 ft, minor flooding; 749 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 2008: 10.81 ft, minor flooding; 624 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2010: 10.81 ft, minor flooding; 624 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 2011: 9.69 ft, minor flooding; 422 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2012: 8.65 ft, action stage; 275 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2013: 11.35 ft, minor flooding; 740 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2014: 9.85 ft, minor flooding; 481 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2017: 10.49 ft, minor flooding; 624 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 2017: 9.86 ft, minor flooding; 486 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 2017: 12.75 ft, moderate flooding; 1,460 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2017: 10.06 ft, minor flooding; 634 cubic feet per secondOct 15, 2017: 11.49 ft, minor flooding; 902 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2018: 11.39 ft, minor flooding; 671 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2018: 9.40 ft, action stage; 373 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2018: 11.13 ft, minor flooding; 534 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2018: 12.10 ft, moderate flooding; 694 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2019: 9.31 ft, action stage; 328 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2019: 9.40 ft, action stage; 338 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 2019: 10.47 ft, minor flooding; 481 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2019: 9.83 ft, minor flooding; 392 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2019: 9.99 ft, minor flooding; 413 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 2019: 11.18 ft, minor flooding; 590 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2019: 11.88 ft, moderate flooding; 586 cubic feet per secondOct 27, 2019: 10.27 ft, minor flooding; 357 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 2020: 10.24 ft, minor flooding; 396 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 2020: 10.45 ft, minor flooding; 420 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2020: 11.01 ft, minor flooding; 495 cubic feet per second Highest, 12.75 ft, Jul 13, 2017 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield 1950s: 2 1960s: 1 1970s: 4 1980s: 6 1990s: 8 2000s: 6 2010s: 18 18 2020s: 3 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 81 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield
1Jul 13, 201712.75+3.25Moderate1,460
2Sep 3, 201812.10+2.60Moderate694
3Sep 13, 201911.88+2.38Moderate586
4Oct 13, 200111.55+2.05Moderate787
5Aug 14, 198711.52+2.02Moderate933
6Oct 15, 201711.49+1.99Minor902
7Sep 13, 200811.39+1.89Minor749
8Feb 20, 201811.39+1.89Minor671
9Apr 18, 201311.35+1.85Minor740
10Jul 21, 201911.18+1.68Minor590
11May 21, 201811.13+1.63Minor534
12May 17, 202011.01+1.51Minor495
13Jul 22, 198210.93+1.43Minor756
14Feb 21, 199710.83+1.33Minor630
15Dec 27, 200810.81+1.31Minor624
16May 13, 201010.81+1.31Minor624
17Dec 3, 198210.78+1.28Minor702
18Mar 4, 198510.71+1.21Minor678
19Apr 23, 199910.63+1.13Minor590
20Sep 30, 198610.51+1.01Minor465
21May 1, 201710.49+0.99Minor624
22May 1, 201910.47+0.97Minor481
23Apr 30, 202010.45+0.95Minor420
24Jun 24, 199410.39+0.89Minor590
25Sep 19, 200110.35+0.85Minor537
26Jun 20, 197210.34+0.84Minor368
27Aug 20, 200710.29+0.79Minor513
28Oct 27, 201910.27+0.77Minor357
29Apr 27, 199510.26+0.76Minor561
30Apr 22, 197310.25+0.75Minor390
31May 20, 199610.25+0.75Minor559
32Aug 18, 199010.24+0.74Minor557
33Mar 28, 202010.24+0.74Minor396
34May 17, 197410.18+0.68Minor362
35Jul 22, 201710.06+0.56Minor634
36Jun 15, 20199.99+0.49Minor413
37Jun 29, 20179.86+0.36Minor486
38May 13, 20149.85+0.35Minor481
39Jun 5, 20199.83+0.33Minor392
40Mar 31, 19939.79+0.29Minor469
41Apr 21, 20009.78+0.28Minor437
42Nov 28, 19909.75+0.25Minor462
43Mar 5, 19769.72+0.22Minor550
44Feb 13, 19849.69+0.19Minor415
45Jul 23, 20119.69+0.19Minor422
46Apr 28, 19599.63+0.13Minor292
47May 19, 19579.59+0.09Minor284
48Mar 30, 19609.59+0.09Minor284
49Jun 10, 19679.46−0.04Action386
50Mar 5, 20049.45−0.05Action386

The worst floods along the North Branch Chicago River

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

August 14, 1987: 11.52 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the North Branch Chicago River

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

Flood gauges on the North Branch Chicago River
Deerfield this gaugeIL9.512.75 ft, Jul 13, 20170
NilesIL10.012.13 ft, Sep 14, 20082
Chicago (Pulaski Rd)IL18.022.50 ft, Aug 14, 19871
Chicago (Grand Ave)IL3.05.70 ft, Oct 10, 19543

Other gauges in Lake County

Flood gauges in Lake County
Lincolnshire12.516.55 ft, Jul 13, 20174
Gurnee7.012.09 ft, Jul 16, 20174
Russell7.012.11 ft, Jul 14, 20178
Fox Lake6.08.12 ft, Apr 5, 19606
Lake Villa6.08.90 ft, Jul 4, 19387
Antioch6.08.34 ft, Apr 5, 19606
Old Mill Creek11.013.21 ft, Jul 12, 20170
Highland Park9.010.44 ft, Jul 13, 20170
Lake Forest6.09.09 ft, Jul 12, 20170
Deerfield13.016.84 ft, Jun 10, 19671

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge DRFI2, 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.