Highest listed crest 30.00 ft August 1, 1875
Flood stage 15.0 ft Major flooding from 23.0 ft
Crests at major 5 34th of 206 gauges in Indiana
Most recent flood crest June 18, 2026 16.37 ft, minor flooding Listed crests at the Eel River at Bowling Green, 1875 to 2026 5 10 15 20 25 30 ft Flood stage 15.0 ft Major 23.0 ft Aug 1, 1875: 30.00 ft, major flooding Mar 26, 1913: 24.80 ft, major flooding; 46,000 cubic feet per second Jan 18, 1932: 18.10 ft, minor flooding; 9,960 cubic feet per second Jan 23, 1932: 17.40 ft, minor flooding; 9,400 cubic feet per second Jun 28, 1932: 16.00 ft, minor flooding; 8,280 cubic feet per second Dec 25, 1932: 16.40 ft, minor flooding; 8,440 cubic feet per second Jan 1, 1933: 18.60 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 1933: 18.70 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per second Apr 19, 1933: 17.20 ft, minor flooding; 9,160 cubic feet per second May 7, 1935: 17.03 ft, minor flooding; 8,810 cubic feet per second Nov 4, 1936: 19.06 ft, minor flooding; 12,900 cubic feet per second Jan 9, 1937: 16.99 ft, minor flooding; 8,090 cubic feet per second Jan 21, 1937: 18.38 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per second Dec 18, 1937: 19.36 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per second Mar 6, 1938: 17.38 ft, minor flooding; 9,100 cubic feet per second Mar 16, 1938: 18.75 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per second Apr 1, 1938: 20.75 ft, moderate flooding; 20,600 cubic feet per second Apr 9, 1938: 19.57 ft, minor flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per second Jul 3, 1938: 18.67 ft, minor flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per second Jan 31, 1939: 19.40 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per second Mar 13, 1939: 19.80 ft, minor flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per second Apr 17, 1939: 20.24 ft, moderate flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per second Apr 20, 1940: 16.65 ft, minor flooding; 8,640 cubic feet per second Jun 12, 1941: 18.51 ft, minor flooding; 9,960 cubic feet per second Feb 7, 1942: 18.63 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per second Apr 10, 1942: 18.15 ft, minor flooding; 9,340 cubic feet per second Nov 18, 1942: 16.74 ft, minor flooding; 8,620 cubic feet per second May 11, 1943: 20.78 ft, moderate flooding; 20,500 cubic feet per second May 18, 1943: 21.32 ft, moderate flooding; 23,400 cubic feet per second Apr 12, 1944: 20.37 ft, moderate flooding; 18,800 cubic feet per second Apr 24, 1944: 19.79 ft, minor flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per second Apr 1, 1945: 19.03 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per second May 17, 1945: 19.43 ft, minor flooding; 14,100 cubic feet per second Jun 18, 1945: 18.48 ft, minor flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per second Feb 14, 1946: 17.23 ft, minor flooding; 8,300 cubic feet per second May 12, 1946: 17.24 ft, minor flooding; 8,300 cubic feet per second May 18, 1946: 18.24 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per second Jan 31, 1947: 17.94 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per second Apr 26, 1947: 16.71 ft, minor flooding; 8,200 cubic feet per second Jun 8, 1947: 19.31 ft, minor flooding; 14,700 cubic feet per second Jan 2, 1948: 17.45 ft, minor flooding; 9,200 cubic feet per second Mar 27, 1948: 19.77 ft, minor flooding; 17,500 cubic feet per second Jan 6, 1949: 18.94 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per second Jan 19, 1949: 21.08 ft, moderate flooding; 23,600 cubic feet per second Jan 28, 1949: 18.08 ft, minor flooding; 9,700 cubic feet per second Feb 16, 1949: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per second Mar 27, 1949: 17.96 ft, minor flooding; 9,500 cubic feet per second Jan 4, 1950: 23.53 ft, major flooding; 34,000 cubic feet per second Jan 11, 1950: 19.06 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per second Jan 16, 1950: 20.13 ft, moderate flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per second Jan 27, 1950: 20.24 ft, moderate flooding; 15,500 cubic feet per second Feb 14, 1950: 20.43 ft, moderate flooding; 16,500 cubic feet per second Mar 28, 1950: 18.96 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per second Apr 5, 1950: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 8,950 cubic feet per second Sep 2, 1950: 19.66 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per second Sep 23, 1950: 18.87 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per second Nov 21, 1950: 18.03 ft, minor flooding; 8,500 cubic feet per second Feb 21, 1951: 18.21 ft, minor flooding; 8,800 cubic feet per second Jan 27, 1952: 19.35 ft, minor flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per second Mar 12, 1952: 18.82 ft, minor flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per second Apr 14, 1952: 18.76 ft, minor flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 1952: 20.50 ft, moderate flooding; 17,000 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 1953: 18.81 ft, minor flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per second Apr 6, 1954: 7.28 ft, below flood stage; 1,930 cubic feet per second Sep 30, 1955: 13.80 ft, action stage; 4,880 cubic feet per second Nov 16, 1955: 18.73 ft, minor flooding; 9,600 cubic feet per second Feb 26, 1956: 18.65 ft, minor flooding; 9,400 cubic feet per second Jun 29, 1957: 23.39 ft, major flooding; 33,400 cubic feet per second Dec 20, 1957: 20.27 ft, moderate flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per second Jan 22, 1959: 20.08 ft, moderate flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per second Jun 24, 1960: 20.45 ft, moderate flooding; 16,500 cubic feet per second May 8, 1961: 22.19 ft, moderate flooding; 26,700 cubic feet per second Mar 22, 1962: 19.41 ft, minor flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per second Mar 5, 1963: 22.04 ft, moderate flooding; 25,500 cubic feet per second Apr 21, 1964: 19.69 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per second May 10, 1965: 17.06 ft, minor flooding; 9,290 cubic feet per second Feb 11, 1966: 11.07 ft, below flood stage; 3,740 cubic feet per second Dec 9, 1966: 18.42 ft, minor flooding; 8,840 cubic feet per second May 24, 1968: 21.52 ft, moderate flooding; 22,100 cubic feet per second Jan 30, 1969: 20.62 ft, moderate flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per second Apr 25, 1970: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 8,680 cubic feet per second Feb 5, 1971: 19.27 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per second Dec 16, 1971: 16.75 ft, minor flooding; 6,880 cubic feet per second Jul 21, 1973: 19.77 ft, minor flooding; 13,400 cubic feet per second Dec 27, 1973: 17.59 ft, minor flooding; 7,700 cubic feet per second Feb 23, 1975: 19.82 ft, minor flooding; 14,200 cubic feet per second Mar 5, 1976: 15.37 ft, minor flooding; 5,890 cubic feet per second Mar 28, 1977: 15.59 ft, minor flooding; 6,050 cubic feet per second Mar 15, 1978: 20.21 ft, moderate flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per second Jul 29, 1979: 20.25 ft, moderate flooding; 13,300 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 1980: 15.86 ft, minor flooding; 5,610 cubic feet per second May 11, 1981: 18.34 ft, minor flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per second Jan 31, 1982: 18.58 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per second Dec 26, 1982: 18.80 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 1984: 17.58 ft, minor flooding; 8,260 cubic feet per second Feb 23, 1985: 19.68 ft, minor flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per second Nov 20, 1985: 20.71 ft, moderate flooding; 17,900 cubic feet per second Jul 2, 1987: 19.77 ft, minor flooding; 14,300 cubic feet per second Apr 7, 1988: 18.71 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per second Sep 16, 1989: 19.72 ft, minor flooding; 9,740 cubic feet per second May 17, 1990: 20.09 ft, moderate flooding; 15,400 cubic feet per second Dec 30, 1990: 21.59 ft, moderate flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per second Apr 18, 1992: 18.02 ft, minor flooding; 9,050 cubic feet per second Nov 3, 1992: 15.10 ft, minor flooding Nov 13, 1992: 20.20 ft, moderate flooding Jan 5, 1993: 18.97 ft, minor flooding Mar 5, 1993: 15.54 ft, minor flooding Apr 10, 1993: 12.20 ft, action stage Aug 18, 1993: 21.37 ft, moderate flooding; 18,800 cubic feet per second Sep 3, 1993: 15.76 ft, minor flooding Nov 15, 1993: 21.54 ft, moderate flooding; 19,700 cubic feet per second Jan 28, 1994: 17.40 ft, minor flooding Apr 12, 1994: 18.72 ft, minor flooding Mar 8, 1995: 17.91 ft, minor flooding May 19, 1995: 18.11 ft, minor flooding; 8,170 cubic feet per second Jan 19, 1996: 12.56 ft, action stage Jan 24, 1996: 13.21 ft, action stage Mar 25, 1996: 13.28 ft, action stage Apr 24, 1996: 17.63 ft, minor flooding Apr 30, 1996: 19.82 ft, minor flooding May 5, 1996: 18.36 ft, minor flooding May 9, 1996: 18.08 ft, minor flooding May 28, 1996: 21.33 ft, moderate flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per second Jun 7, 1996: 12.40 ft, action stage Jun 11, 1996: 13.98 ft, action stage Jun 18, 1996: 12.88 ft, action stage Dec 24, 1996: 14.10 ft, action stage Jan 5, 1997: 11.20 ft, below flood stage Jan 23, 1997: 17.84 ft, minor flooding Feb 4, 1997: 13.10 ft, action stage Feb 27, 1997: 20.33 ft, moderate flooding; 13,700 cubic feet per second Mar 14, 1997: 19.20 ft, minor flooding Jun 2, 1997: 12.63 ft, action stage Jun 9, 1997: 11.90 ft, below flood stage Jun 22, 1997: 12.71 ft, action stage Mar 21, 1998: 15.81 ft, minor flooding Apr 16, 1998: 14.00 ft, action stage May 1, 1998: 13.60 ft, action stage May 8, 1998: 10.60 ft, below flood stage May 20, 1998: 10.88 ft, below flood stage Jun 16, 1998: 19.51 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per second Jan 23, 1999: 20.79 ft, moderate flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per second Aug 18, 2000: 12.74 ft, action stage; 3,910 cubic feet per second Oct 6, 2000: 18.57 ft, minor flooding; 8,890 cubic feet per second Oct 15, 2001: 17.59 ft, minor flooding May 13, 2002: 20.71 ft, moderate flooding; 15,400 cubic feet per second May 12, 2003: 18.99 ft, minor flooding Jul 11, 2003: 19.02 ft, minor flooding Sep 2, 2003: 20.77 ft, moderate flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per second Jan 5, 2004: 19.87 ft, minor flooding; 12,100 cubic feet per second Jun 17, 2004: 11.84 ft, below flood stage Jan 6, 2005: 21.58 ft, moderate flooding; 20,000 cubic feet per second Jan 14, 2005: 19.13 ft, minor flooding Mar 13, 2006: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 9,700 cubic feet per second Dec 2, 2006: 17.24 ft, minor flooding Jan 16, 2007: 19.55 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per second Feb 6, 2008: 19.70 ft, minor flooding Mar 19, 2008: 20.23 ft, moderate flooding Jun 7, 2008: 23.48 ft, major flooding; 33,800 cubic feet per second Feb 12, 2009: 20.46 ft, moderate flooding; 14,300 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 2010: 18.19 ft, minor flooding; 8,260 cubic feet per second Mar 1, 2011: 19.32 ft, minor flooding Mar 6, 2011: 20.29 ft, moderate flooding Apr 20, 2011: 21.11 ft, moderate flooding; 17,400 cubic feet per second Apr 28, 2011: 20.73 ft, moderate flooding Dec 15, 2011: 14.57 ft, action stage; 4,960 cubic feet per second Jan 13, 2013: 20.95 ft, moderate flooding Apr 19, 2013: 22.56 ft, moderate flooding; 26,400 cubic feet per second Dec 22, 2013: 19.44 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per second Apr 4, 2014: 19.22 ft, minor flooding Apr 10, 2015: 15.84 ft, minor flooding; 5,903 cubic feet per second Jun 22, 2015: 16.93 ft, minor flooding Jul 13, 2015: 17.02 ft, minor flooding Dec 28, 2015: 19.50 ft, minor flooding Apr 12, 2016: 17.01 ft, minor flooding Sep 17, 2016: 13.77 ft, action stage Jan 21, 2017: 17.15 ft, minor flooding May 5, 2017: 20.11 ft, moderate flooding Jun 24, 2017: 12.44 ft, action stage Jul 14, 2017: 15.17 ft, minor flooding Feb 25, 2018: 17.97 ft, minor flooding Apr 4, 2018: 21.53 ft, moderate flooding Sep 9, 2018: 13.01 ft, action stage Sep 27, 2018: 11.85 ft, below flood stage Nov 2, 2018: 13.74 ft, action stage Jan 24, 2019: 16.38 ft, minor flooding; 6,370 cubic feet per second Feb 8, 2019: 19.47 ft, minor flooding; 10,812 cubic feet per second Apr 20, 2019: 15.92 ft, minor flooding; 5,965 cubic feet per second Jun 17, 2019: 18.00 ft, minor flooding; 8,036 cubic feet per second Dec 31, 2019: 16.22 ft, minor flooding; 6,228 cubic feet per second Jan 12, 2020: 20.57 ft, moderate flooding; 15,811 cubic feet per second Feb 11, 2020: 18.01 ft, minor flooding; 8,048 cubic feet per second May 19, 2020: 18.52 ft, minor flooding; 8,795 cubic feet per second Mar 19, 2021: 17.24 ft, minor flooding; 7,153 cubic feet per second Jun 19, 2021: 17.26 ft, minor flooding; 7,176 cubic feet per second Mar 8, 2022: 19.28 ft, minor flooding; 10,518 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 2023: 18.84 ft, minor flooding; 9,790 cubic feet per second Apr 3, 2024: 19.73 ft, minor flooding; 11,802 cubic feet per second Apr 6, 2025: 21.78 ft, moderate flooding; 28,718 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 2026: 17.38 ft, minor flooding; 8,011 cubic feet per second May 19, 2026: 16.64 ft, minor flooding; 7,344 cubic feet per second Jun 18, 2026: 16.37 ft, minor flooding; 7,098 cubic feet per second Highest, 30.00 ft, Aug 1, 1875 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Crests at or above flood stage, by decade Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Eel River at Bowling Green 1870s: 1 1880s: 0 1890s: 0 1900s: 0 1910s: 1 1920s: 0 1930s: 20 1940s: 25 25 1950s: 21 1960s: 9 1970s: 10 1980s: 10 1990s: 25 2000s: 16 2010s: 24 2020s: 12 1870s 1890s 1910s 1930s 1950s 1970s 1990s 2010s 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. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable. Clay County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Indiana
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BOLI3, 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.