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Tippecanoe River at Oswego

Highest listed crest 9.40 ftFlood stage 7.5 ft76 crests since 1943

The Tippecanoe River at Oswego crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 76 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1943 to 2020. The highest, 9.40 ft on May 21, 1943, was major flooding, 1.90 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Tippecanoe River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
9.40 ft
May 21, 1943; 1,050 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.5 ft
Major flooding from 9.0 ft
Crests at major
2
67th of 206 gauges in Indiana
Most recent flood crest
May 23, 2020
8.31 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Kosciusko County
Near Warsaw (6.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Tippecanoe River at Oswego
Action stage7.07May 25, 2010The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)7.527May 31, 2017Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage8.031May 23, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage9.02Mar 21, 1982Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

76 crests from 1943 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Tippecanoe River at Oswego, 1943 to 2020 -20246810ft Flood stage 7.5 ftMajor 9.0 ft May 21, 1943: 9.40 ft, major flooding; 1,050 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1950: 8.62 ft, moderate flooding; 680 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1951: -1.00 ft, below flood stage; 430 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1952: -1.00 ft, below flood stage; 370 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1953: 6.76 ft, below flood stage; 179 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1954: 7.60 ft, minor flooding; 322 cubic feet per secondOct 17, 1954: 8.64 ft, moderate flooding; 700 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1956: 8.08 ft, moderate flooding; 450 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1957: 7.59 ft, minor flooding; 315 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 1958: 8.18 ft, moderate flooding; 383 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1959: 8.48 ft, moderate flooding; 548 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1960: 7.79 ft, minor flooding; 383 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1961: 7.43 ft, action stage; 312 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1962: -1.00 ft, below flood stage; 356 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1963: -1.00 ft, below flood stage; 237 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1964: 6.53 ft, below flood stage; 122 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1965: 7.30 ft, action stage; 227 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 1966: 7.80 ft, minor flooding; 286 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 1966: 8.25 ft, moderate flooding; 478 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1968: 8.09 ft, moderate flooding; 412 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1969: 8.21 ft, moderate flooding; 442 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1970: 7.47 ft, action stage; 275 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1971: 7.38 ft, action stage; 259 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1972: 7.77 ft, minor flooding; 332 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1973: 7.60 ft, minor flooding; 306 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1974: 7.92 ft, minor flooding; 401 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1975: 7.66 ft, minor flooding; 305 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1976: 8.16 ft, moderate flooding; 443 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1977: 7.66 ft, minor flooding; 306 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1978: 8.46 ft, moderate flooding; 565 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1979: 8.00 ft, moderate flooding; 343 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1980: 7.74 ft, minor flooding; 341 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1981: 8.65 ft, moderate flooding; 645 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1982: 9.25 ft, major flooding; 950 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1983: 8.00 ft, moderate flooding; 411 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1984: 8.11 ft, moderate flooding; 445 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1985: 8.89 ft, moderate flooding; 758 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1986: 7.59 ft, minor floodingOct 9, 1986: 7.80 ft, minor flooding; 350 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1988: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 304 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1989: 7.78 ft, minor flooding; 346 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1990: 7.99 ft, minor flooding; 400 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1991: 8.72 ft, moderate flooding; 622 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1992: 6.69 ft, below flood stage; 183 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1993: 8.48 ft, moderate flooding; 562 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1994: 7.94 ft, minor flooding; 386 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1995: 7.64 ft, minor flooding; 331 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1996: 8.14 ft, moderate flooding; 443 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1998: 8.35 ft, moderate flooding; 550 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1999: 8.03 ft, moderate flooding; 492 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2000: 6.92 ft, below flood stage; 251 cubic feet per secondOct 22, 2001: 7.96 ft, minor flooding; 479 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 2003: 7.34 ft, action stage; 356 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2004: 7.70 ft, minor flooding; 410 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 2005: 8.17 ft, moderate flooding; 526 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2006: 7.36 ft, action stage; 263 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 2007: 7.77 ft, minor flooding; 426 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2008: 8.51 ft, moderate floodingFeb 10, 2008: 8.54 ft, moderate floodingMar 15, 2008: 8.01 ft, moderate floodingMar 15, 2009: 8.96 ft, moderate flooding; 776 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2009: 7.89 ft, minor flooding; 455 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 2009: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 375 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2010: 7.05 ft, action stage; 280 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 2011: 7.60 ft, minor flooding; 387 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 2011: 8.03 ft, moderate flooding; 492 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 2011: 8.48 ft, moderate flooding; 619 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 2012: 7.68 ft, minor flooding; 405 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2013: 8.69 ft, moderate flooding; 685 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 2014: 7.81 ft, minor flooding; 407 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 2015: 7.92 ft, minor flooding; 436 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2016: 6.98 ft, below flood stage; 234 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2017: 7.82 ft, minor flooding; 410 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 2018: 8.79 ft, moderate flooding; 739 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 2019: 8.06 ft, moderate flooding; 450 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2020: 8.31 ft, moderate flooding; 556 cubic feet per second Highest, 9.40 ft, May 21, 1943 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Tippecanoe River at Oswego 1940s: 1 1950s: 7 1960s: 5 1970s: 8 1980s: 10 10 1990s: 8 2000s: 10 2010s: 10 2020s: 1 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 76 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Tippecanoe River at Oswego
1May 21, 19439.40+1.90Major1,050
2Mar 21, 19829.25+1.75Major950
3Mar 15, 20098.96+1.46Moderate776
4Mar 4, 19858.89+1.39Moderate758
5Feb 27, 20188.79+1.29Moderate739
6Jan 3, 19918.72+1.22Moderate622
7Apr 26, 20138.69+1.19Moderate685
8Jun 22, 19818.65+1.15Moderate645
9Oct 17, 19548.64+1.14Moderate700
10Apr 10, 19508.62+1.12Moderate680
11Feb 10, 20088.54+1.04Moderate—
12Jan 13, 20088.51+1.01Moderate—
13Feb 18, 19598.48+0.98Moderate548
14Jan 10, 19938.48+0.98Moderate562
15Dec 8, 20118.48+0.98Moderate619
16Mar 28, 19788.46+0.96Moderate565
17Jan 12, 19988.35+0.85Moderate550
18May 23, 20208.31+0.81Moderate556
19Dec 16, 19668.25+0.75Moderate478
20Feb 5, 19698.21+0.71Moderate442
21Sep 20, 19588.18+0.68Moderate383
22Jan 17, 20058.17+0.67Moderate526
23Feb 24, 19768.16+0.66Moderate443
24May 21, 19968.14+0.64Moderate443
25May 31, 19848.11+0.61Moderate445
26Feb 8, 19688.09+0.59Moderate412
27May 14, 19568.08+0.58Moderate450
28May 5, 20198.06+0.56Moderate450
29Apr 28, 19998.03+0.53Moderate492
30Jun 3, 20118.03+0.53Moderate492
31Mar 15, 20088.01+0.51Moderate—
32Mar 10, 19798.00+0.50Moderate343
33May 8, 19838.00+0.50Moderate411
34Feb 28, 19907.99+0.49Minor400
35Oct 22, 20017.96+0.46Minor479
36Apr 17, 19947.94+0.44Minor386
37Mar 12, 19747.92+0.42Minor401
38Jul 20, 20157.92+0.42Minor436
39Apr 13, 20097.89+0.39Minor455
40May 31, 20177.82+0.32Minor410
41Mar 23, 20147.81+0.31Minor407
42Jan 4, 19667.80+0.30Minor286
43Oct 9, 19867.80+0.30Minor350
44Jun 20, 19607.79+0.29Minor383
45Jun 8, 19897.78+0.28Minor346
46Apr 24, 19727.77+0.27Minor332
47Jan 19, 20077.77+0.27Minor426
48Apr 9, 19807.74+0.24Minor341
49Jun 18, 20047.70+0.20Minor410
50Jan 29, 20127.68+0.18Minor405

The worst floods along the Tippecanoe River

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

May 21, 1943: 9.40 ft here, major flooding

  • DelphiIN · May 18, 1943 · 13.24 ft · Moderate

March 21, 1982: 9.25 ft here, major flooding

  • OraIN · Mar 15, 1982 · 14.98 ft · Major
  • DelphiIN · Mar 16, 1982 · 12.89 ft · Moderate

March 15, 2009: 8.96 ft here, moderate flooding

  • OraIN · Mar 13, 2009 · 15.72 ft · Major · its highest
  • WinamacIN · Mar 14, 2009 · 15.69 ft · Major · its highest
  • Oakdale DamIN · Mar 11, 2009 · 18.72 ft · Moderate
  • Oakdale DamIN · Mar 11, 2009 · 18.72 ft · Moderate
  • DelphiIN · Mar 11, 2009 · 14.40 ft · Moderate
  • North WebsterIN · Mar 14, 2009 · 6.81 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Tippecanoe River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Tippecanoe River
North WebsterIN6.07.12 ft, Feb 22, 20181
Oswego this gaugeIN7.59.40 ft, May 21, 19432
WinamacIN10.015.69 ft, Mar 14, 20093
Oakdale DamIN14.021.75 ft, Jan 8, 20083
Oakdale DamIN14.021.75 ft, Jan 8, 20083
AmericusIN15.021.05 ft, Apr 20, 20130
DelphiIN8.017.83 ft, Jan 8, 20083
OraIN12.015.72 ft, Mar 13, 200924

Other gauges in Kosciusko County

Flood gauges in Kosciusko County
North Webster6.07.12 ft, Feb 22, 20181

Kosciusko County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Indiana

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge OWGI3, 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.