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Weller Creek at Des Plaines

Highest listed crest 15.09 ftFlood stage 9.0 ft62 crests since 1951

The Weller Creek at Des Plaines crested at major flood stage 7 times among the 62 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1951 to 2020. The highest, 15.09 ft on June 10, 1967, was major flooding, 6.09 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
15.09 ft
June 10, 1967; 1,590 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
9.0 ft
Major flooding from 12.5 ft
Crests at major
7
39th of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
May 17, 2020
9.96 ft, minor flooding
Location
Cook County
Near Des Plaines (1.4 mi), Mount Prospect (1.4 mi), Prospect Heights (3.8 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Weller Creek at Des Plaines
Action stage7.519Apr 18, 2013The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.015May 17, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage11.54Aug 26, 1972Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage12.57Jul 23, 2011Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

62 crests from 1951 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Weller Creek at Des Plaines, 1951 to 2020 6810121416ft Flood stage 9.0 ftMajor 12.5 ft Feb 19, 1951: 7.59 ft, action stage; 245 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1952: 8.93 ft, action stage; 328 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1953: 6.26 ft, below flood stage; 169 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1954: 10.84 ft, minor flooding; 461 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1954: 11.83 ft, moderate flooding; 535 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1956: 7.60 ft, action stage; 245 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1957: 13.37 ft, major flooding; 668 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1958: 9.62 ft, minor flooding; 384 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 1959: 8.91 ft, action stage; 376 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1960: 11.96 ft, moderate flooding; 562 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1961: 12.48 ft, moderate flooding; 596 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1962: 9.07 ft, minor flooding; 394 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1963: 10.46 ft, minor flooding; 478 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 1964: 10.03 ft, minor flooding; 432 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1965: 8.36 ft, action stage; 336 cubic feet per secondJul 27, 1966: 13.41 ft, major flooding; 1,530 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 15.09 ft, major flooding; 1,590 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1968: 12.91 ft, major flooding; 1,140 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1969: 10.51 ft, minor flooding; 897 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1970: 11.35 ft, minor flooding; 1,060 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 1972: 12.25 ft, moderate flooding; 1,280 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1973: 7.83 ft, action stage; 1,190 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1974: 6.44 ft, below flood stage; 673 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1975: 9.43 ft, minor flooding; 1,040 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1976: 8.20 ft, action stage; 887 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1977: 6.76 ft, below flood stage; 515 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 1978: 9.79 ft, minor flooding; 883 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1979: 8.59 ft, action stage; 919 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1980: 7.07 ft, below flood stage; 658 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1981: 8.06 ft, action stage; 896 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1982: 8.76 ft, action stage; 966 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1982: 8.63 ft, action stage; 792 cubic feet per secondOct 22, 1983: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 812 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1985: 8.23 ft, action stage; 913 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 1985: 8.71 ft, action stage; 962 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1987: 14.80 ft, major flooding; 1,490 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1989: 11.39 ft, minor flooding; 1,170 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1990: 11.04 ft, minor floodingNov 27, 1990: 7.51 ft, action stage; 831 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 1991: 8.21 ft, action stage; 911 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1993: 8.71 ft, action stage; 962 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1994: 10.61 ft, minor flooding; 1,150 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1995: 7.19 ft, below flood stage; 586 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1996: 7.42 ft, below flood stage; 820 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 10.45 ft, minor flooding; 1,040 cubic feet per secondOct 17, 1998: 7.18 ft, below flood stage; 792 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 2001: 8.00 ft, action stage; 890 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2001: 9.84 ft, minor flooding; 1,070 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 2004: 6.98 ft, below flood stage; 768 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 2007: 8.36 ft, action stage; 927 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2008: 12.55 ft, major flooding; 1,310 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2009: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 818 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2010: 7.26 ft, below flood stage; 801 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 2011: 12.72 ft, major flooding; 1,330 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2013: 8.22 ft, action stage; 912 cubic feet per secondAug 22, 2014: 6.93 ft, below flood stage; 545 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2017: 7.11 ft, below flood stage; 570 cubic feet per secondOct 14, 2017: 6.88 ft, below flood stage; 539 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2018: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 568 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2018: 6.93 ft, below flood stage; 545 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 2019: 6.91 ft, below flood stage; 536 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2020: 9.96 ft, minor flooding; 1,080 cubic feet per second Highest, 15.09 ft, Jun 10, 1967 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Weller Creek at Des Plaines 1950s: 4 1960s: 9 9 1970s: 4 1980s: 2 1990s: 3 2000s: 2 2010s: 1 2020s: 1 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 62 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Weller Creek at Des Plaines
1Jun 10, 196715.09+6.09Major1,590
2Aug 14, 198714.80+5.80Major1,490
3Jul 27, 196613.41+4.41Major1,530
4Jul 13, 195713.37+4.37Major668
5Aug 17, 196812.91+3.91Major1,140
6Jul 23, 201112.72+3.72Major1,330
7Sep 13, 200812.55+3.55Major1,310
8Sep 14, 196112.48+3.48Moderate596
9Aug 26, 197212.25+3.25Moderate1,280
10Apr 16, 196011.96+2.96Moderate562
11Oct 10, 195411.83+2.83Moderate535
12Aug 4, 198911.39+2.39Minor1,170
13Jun 2, 197011.35+2.35Minor1,060
14Aug 18, 199011.04+2.04Minor—
15Apr 25, 195410.84+1.84Minor461
16Jun 23, 199410.61+1.61Minor1,150
17Jun 8, 196910.51+1.51Minor897
18Jul 19, 196310.46+1.46Minor478
19Feb 21, 199710.45+1.45Minor1,040
20Sep 23, 196410.03+1.03Minor432
21May 17, 20209.96+0.96Minor1,080
22Oct 13, 20019.84+0.84Minor1,070
23Sep 13, 19789.79+0.79Minor883
24Jun 13, 19589.62+0.62Minor384
25Apr 18, 19759.43+0.43Minor1,040
26Jul 2, 19629.07+0.07Minor394
27Jun 17, 19528.93−0.07Action328
28Jul 30, 19598.91−0.09Action376
29Mar 13, 19828.76−0.24Action966
30Nov 19, 19858.71−0.29Action962
31Jul 18, 19938.71−0.29Action962
32Dec 2, 19828.63−0.37Action792
33Apr 11, 19798.59−0.41Action919
34May 18, 19658.36−0.64Action336
35Aug 23, 20078.36−0.64Action927
36Aug 13, 19858.23−0.77Action913
37Apr 18, 20138.22−0.78Action912
38Oct 4, 19918.21−0.79Action911
39Mar 4, 19768.20−0.80Action887
40Aug 14, 19818.06−0.94Action896
41Sep 19, 20018.00−1.00Action890
42Apr 21, 19737.83−1.17Action1,190
43Apr 29, 19567.60−1.40Action245
44Feb 19, 19517.59−1.41Action245
45Nov 27, 19907.51−1.49Action831
46May 28, 19967.42−1.58Below flood stage820
47Jun 19, 20097.40−1.60Below flood stage818
48Oct 22, 19837.35−1.65Below flood stage812
49May 13, 20107.26−1.74Below flood stage801
50Apr 26, 19957.19−1.81Below flood stage586

Other gauges in Cook County

Flood gauges in Cook County
Bellwood9.013.57 ft, Jul 24, 20104
Wheeling5.08.46 ft, Jun 26, 20136
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
Northbrook7.010.10 ft, Aug 14, 19877

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WLRI2, 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.