Search
Menu

Explore

Hazards

Analysis

Rankings

Reference

West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook

Highest listed crest 10.10 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft56 crests since 1954

The West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook crested at major flood stage 7 times among the 56 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1954 to 2020. The highest, 10.10 ft on August 14, 1987, was major flooding, 3.10 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
10.10 ft
August 14, 1987; 1,190 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
Major flooding from 8.5 ft
Crests at major
7
39th of 177 gauges in Illinois
Most recent flood crest
May 23, 2020
7.74 ft, minor flooding
Location
Cook County
Near Northbrook (0.7 mi), Deerfield (2.1 mi), Highland Park (3.3 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook
Action stage6.012May 17, 2020The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.024May 23, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage8.013Jun 26, 2013Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage8.57Oct 13, 2001Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

56 crests from 1954 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook, 1954 to 2020 67891011ft Flood stage 7.0 ftMajor 8.5 ft Mar 25, 1954: 8.56 ft, major flooding; 411 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1955: 8.54 ft, major flooding; 404 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1956: 7.25 ft, minor flooding; 199 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 1957: 9.65 ft, major flooding; 930 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1958: 6.84 ft, action stage; 159 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1959: 8.42 ft, moderate flooding; 366 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1960: 8.01 ft, moderate flooding; 275 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1961: 6.87 ft, action stage; 502 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1962: 6.56 ft, action stage; 428 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1964: 6.69 ft, action stage; 298 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1966: 7.00 ft, minor flooding; 390 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1967: 8.86 ft, major flooding; 712 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1969: 7.60 ft, minor flooding; 634 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1970: 6.80 ft, action stage; 423 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1972: 8.10 ft, moderate flooding; 680 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1973: 8.06 ft, moderate flooding; 674 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1974: 7.28 ft, minor flooding; 557 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1975: 7.13 ft, minor flooding; 534 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1976: 7.58 ft, minor flooding; 600 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1978: 7.37 ft, minor flooding; 569 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1979: 7.63 ft, minor flooding; 602 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 1980: 7.50 ft, minor flooding; 582 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1981: 8.29 ft, moderate flooding; 636 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1982: 9.66 ft, major flooding; 1,070 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1982: 8.29 ft, moderate flooding; 744 cubic feet per secondOct 22, 1983: 7.81 ft, minor flooding; 646 cubic feet per secondJul 14, 1985: 7.91 ft, minor flooding; 666 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 1985: 8.07 ft, moderate flooding; 698 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1987: 10.10 ft, major flooding; 1,190 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1989: 7.22 ft, minor flooding; 536 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1990: 8.14 ft, moderate flooding; 719 cubic feet per secondNov 27, 1990: 6.54 ft, action stage; 446 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1994: 8.38 ft, moderate flooding; 767 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1996: 7.34 ft, minor flooding; 570 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 6.95 ft, action stage; 507 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1999: 7.05 ft, minor flooding; 522 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 2001: 7.64 ft, minor flooding; 624 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 2001: 8.77 ft, major flooding; 848 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2004: 7.28 ft, minor flooding; 560 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 2006: 7.89 ft, minor flooding; 670 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2008: 8.06 ft, moderate flooding; 637 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2009: 6.56 ft, action stage; 421 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2010: 8.13 ft, moderate flooding; 716 cubic feet per secondJul 23, 2011: 8.20 ft, moderate flooding; 730 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2013: 8.47 ft, moderate flooding; 806 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 2014: 6.78 ft, action stage; 520 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2017: 7.02 ft, minor flooding; 558 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2017: 7.50 ft, minor flooding; 635 cubic feet per secondOct 14, 2017: 7.03 ft, minor flooding; 559 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2018: 6.71 ft, action stage; 509 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2018: 6.96 ft, action stage; 548 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2018: 7.11 ft, minor flooding; 572 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 2019: 7.72 ft, minor flooding; 672 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2019: 7.26 ft, minor flooding; 629 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2020: 6.99 ft, action stage; 535 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2020: 7.74 ft, minor flooding; 640 cubic feet per second Highest, 10.10 ft, Aug 14, 1987 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook 1950s: 5 1960s: 4 1970s: 7 1980s: 9 9 1990s: 4 2000s: 5 2010s: 9 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 56 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, West Fork North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook
1Aug 14, 198710.10+3.10Major1,190
2Jul 22, 19829.66+2.66Major1,070
3Jul 13, 19579.65+2.65Major930
4Jun 10, 19678.86+1.86Major712
5Oct 13, 20018.77+1.77Major848
6Mar 25, 19548.56+1.56Major411
7Jun 11, 19558.54+1.54Major404
8Jun 26, 20138.47+1.47Moderate806
9Apr 28, 19598.42+1.42Moderate366
10Jun 24, 19948.38+1.38Moderate767
11Aug 14, 19818.29+1.29Moderate636
12Dec 2, 19828.29+1.29Moderate744
13Jul 23, 20118.20+1.20Moderate730
14Aug 18, 19908.14+1.14Moderate719
15May 13, 20108.13+1.13Moderate716
16Jun 20, 19728.10+1.10Moderate680
17Nov 19, 19858.07+1.07Moderate698
18Apr 22, 19738.06+1.06Moderate674
19Sep 13, 20088.06+1.06Moderate637
20Mar 29, 19608.01+1.01Moderate275
21Jul 14, 19857.91+0.91Minor666
22Oct 2, 20067.89+0.89Minor670
23Oct 22, 19837.81+0.81Minor646
24May 23, 20207.74+0.74Minor640
25Jul 21, 20197.72+0.72Minor672
26Sep 19, 20017.64+0.64Minor624
27Apr 12, 19797.63+0.63Minor602
28Jun 8, 19697.60+0.60Minor634
29Mar 4, 19767.58+0.58Minor600
30Sep 9, 19807.50+0.50Minor582
31Jul 12, 20177.50+0.50Minor635
32Jul 2, 19787.37+0.37Minor569
33May 17, 19967.34+0.34Minor570
34May 16, 19747.28+0.28Minor557
35May 20, 20047.28+0.28Minor560
36Sep 13, 20197.26+0.26Minor629
37Apr 28, 19567.25+0.25Minor199
38Aug 4, 19897.22+0.22Minor536
39Apr 28, 19757.13+0.13Minor534
40Sep 3, 20187.11+0.11Minor572
41Apr 23, 19997.05+0.05Minor522
42Oct 14, 20177.03+0.03Minor559
43Jun 28, 20177.02+0.02Minor558
44May 12, 19667.000.00Minor390
45May 17, 20206.99−0.01Action535
46Jun 26, 20186.96−0.04Action548
47Feb 21, 19976.95−0.05Action507
48Sep 25, 19616.87−0.13Action502
49Feb 27, 19586.84−0.16Action159
50Jun 2, 19706.80−0.20Action423

The worst floods along the West Fork North Branch Chicago River

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

June 10, 1967: 8.86 ft here, major flooding

  • DeerfieldIL · Jun 10, 1967 · 16.84 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the West Fork North Branch Chicago River

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

Flood gauges on the West Fork North Branch Chicago River
DeerfieldIL13.016.84 ft, Jun 10, 19671
Northbrook this gaugeIL7.010.10 ft, Aug 14, 19877

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
Des Plaines9.015.09 ft, Jun 10, 19677

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NBRI2, 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.