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Ouachita River at Monroe

Highest listed crest 48.60 ftFlood stage 40.0 ft54 crests since 1884

The Ouachita River at Monroe crested at major flood stage 17 times among the 54 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1884 to 2020. The highest, 48.60 ft on May 4, 1927, was major flooding, 8.60 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
48.60 ft
May 4, 1927; 78,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
40.0 ft
Major flooding from 45.0 ft
Crests at major
17
7th of 107 gauges in Louisiana
Most recent flood crest
March 19, 2020
42.25 ft, minor flooding
Location
Ouachita Parish
Near West Monroe (2.0 mi), Monroe (2.8 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Ouachita River at Monroe
Action stage35.510Apr 9, 1997The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)40.017Mar 19, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage43.010Apr 14, 2016Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage45.017May 23, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

54 crests from 1884 to 2020. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Ouachita River at Monroe, 1884 to 2020 35404550ft Flood stage 40.0 ftMajor 45.0 ft Jun 3, 1884: 46.70 ft, major flooding; 75,700 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1890: 43.60 ft, moderate flooding; 65,400 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1891: 38.90 ft, action stage; 53,700 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 1892: 41.50 ft, minor flooding; 60,000 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1893: 40.60 ft, minor flooding; 57,800 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1894: 45.40 ft, major flooding; 70,600 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1903: 44.90 ft, moderate flooding; 69,100 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1905: 44.40 ft, moderate flooding; 67,600 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1907: 38.90 ft, action stage; 53,700 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1912: 46.60 ft, major flooding; 75,200 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1914: 38.70 ft, action stage; 53,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1916: 41.00 ft, minor flooding; 58,700 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1920: 41.40 ft, minor flooding; 59,800 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1921: 39.20 ft, action stage; 54,400 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1922: 42.70 ft, minor flooding; 63,100 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1923: 38.20 ft, action stage; 52,000 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1927: 48.60 ft, major flooding; 78,000 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1930: 41.00 ft, minor flooding; 60,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1937: 45.10 ft, major flooding; 72,800 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1938: 41.90 ft, minor flooding; 58,200 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1939: 41.70 ft, minor flooding; 60,800 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1942: 40.20 ft, minor flooding; 54,800 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1944: 45.82 ft, major flooding; 72,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1946: 45.70 ft, major flooding; 67,700 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1948: 40.60 ft, minor flooding; 54,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1949: 42.84 ft, minor flooding; 59,400 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1950: 47.61 ft, major flooding; 78,600 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1953: 46.30 ft, major flooding; 68,700 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1957: 43.01 ft, moderate flooding; 59,500 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1961: 41.10 ft, minor flooding; 53,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1962: 38.70 ft, action stage; 49,600 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1966: 39.50 ft, action stage; 53,400 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1968: 44.70 ft, moderate flooding; 64,800 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1974: 45.55 ft, major floodingMay 18, 1975: 44.55 ft, moderate floodingMay 13, 1979: 45.28 ft, major floodingApr 29, 1980: 38.25 ft, action stageJan 5, 1983: 47.20 ft, major floodingJan 30, 1988: 42.00 ft, minor flooding; 62,875 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1989: 41.40 ft, minor floodingApr 5, 1990: 43.36 ft, moderate floodingMar 16, 1994: 37.63 ft, action stageApr 9, 1997: 38.30 ft, action stage; 52,300 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 2001: 45.40 ft, major floodingJan 1, 2002: 40.90 ft, minor floodingMay 25, 2009: 43.80 ft, moderate floodingNov 10, 2009: 47.80 ft, major floodingJan 10, 2010: 43.10 ft, moderate floodingApr 3, 2015: 40.06 ft, minor flooding; 64,100 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 2016: 45.89 ft, major flooding; 82,400 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2016: 44.20 ft, moderate flooding; 76,600 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 2018: 47.40 ft, major flooding; 93,200 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2019: 45.88 ft, major flooding; 84,500 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 2020: 42.25 ft, minor flooding; 68,400 cubic feet per second Highest, 48.60 ft, May 4, 1927 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Ouachita River at Monroe 1880s: 1 1890s: 4 1900s: 2 1910s: 2 1920s: 3 1930s: 4 1940s: 5 1950s: 3 1960s: 2 1970s: 3 1980s: 3 1990s: 1 2000s: 4 2010s: 6 6 2020s: 1 1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s
  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.
  3. 6 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 48.70 ft on Jan 19, 1885; 50.10 ft on Feb 2, 1932; 50.78 ft on Apr 15, 1945; 50.81 ft on May 22, 1958; 48.60 ft on May 7, 1973; 50.48 ft on May 4, 1991.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 54 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Ouachita River at Monroe
1May 4, 192748.60+8.60Major78,000
2Nov 10, 200947.80+7.80Major—
3Mar 1, 195047.61+7.61Major78,600
4Mar 16, 201847.40+7.40Major93,200
5Jan 5, 198347.20+7.20Major—
6Jun 3, 188446.70+6.70Major75,700
7Apr 22, 191246.60+6.60Major75,200
8May 30, 195346.30+6.30Major68,700
9Mar 25, 201645.89+5.89Major82,400
10May 23, 201945.88+5.88Major84,500
11May 19, 194445.82+5.82Major72,200
12Feb 23, 194645.70+5.70Major67,700
13Jan 30, 197445.55+5.55Major—
14Apr 10, 189445.40+5.40Major70,600
15Mar 19, 200145.40+5.40Major—
16May 13, 197945.28+5.28Major—
17Feb 9, 193745.10+5.10Major72,800
18Mar 26, 190344.90+4.90Moderate69,100
19Jun 6, 196844.70+4.70Moderate64,800
20May 18, 197544.55+4.55Moderate—
21May 31, 190544.40+4.40Moderate67,600
22Apr 14, 201644.20+4.20Moderate76,600
23May 25, 200943.80+3.80Moderate—
24May 14, 189043.60+3.60Moderate65,400
25Apr 5, 199043.36+3.36Moderate—
26Jan 10, 201043.10+3.10Moderate—
27May 19, 195743.01+3.01Moderate59,500
28Feb 17, 194942.84+2.84Minor59,400
29May 9, 192242.70+2.70Minor63,100
30Mar 19, 202042.25+2.25Minor68,400
31Jan 30, 198842.00+2.00Minor62,875
32Mar 7, 193841.90+1.90Minor58,200
33Mar 8, 193941.70+1.70Minor60,800
34Jun 27, 189241.50+1.50Minor60,000
35Jun 5, 192041.40+1.40Minor59,800
36Mar 12, 198941.40+1.40Minor—
37Apr 20, 196141.10+1.10Minor53,400
38Feb 19, 191641.00+1.00Minor58,700
39Jun 6, 193041.00+1.00Minor60,900
40Jan 1, 200240.90+0.90Minor—
41Jan 9, 189340.60+0.60Minor57,800
42Mar 23, 194840.60+0.60Minor54,200
43May 19, 194240.20+0.20Minor54,800
44Apr 3, 201540.06+0.06Minor64,100
45May 20, 196639.50−0.50Action53,400
46May 18, 192139.20−0.80Action54,400
47Mar 16, 189138.90−1.10Action53,700
48Jan 23, 190738.90−1.10Action53,700
49Apr 19, 191438.70−1.30Action53,200
50Feb 9, 196238.70−1.30Action49,600

The worst floods along the Ouachita River

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

November 10, 2009: 47.80 ft here, major flooding

March 16, 2018: 47.40 ft here, major flooding

January 5, 1983: 47.20 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Ouachita River

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

Flood gauges on the Ouachita River
ArkadelphiaAR17.030.30 ft, Mar 30, 194513
CamdenAR26.043.87 ft, May 5, 19586
Columbia Lock and DamLA65.072.37 ft, May 5, 19912
Felsenthal Lock and DamAR70.086.40 ft, May 10, 19915
Monroe this gaugeLA40.048.60 ft, May 4, 192717
Moro Bay State ParkAR82.089.95 ft, May 21, 19687
Thatcher L&DAR79.096.30 ft, Apr 6, 19452

Ouachita Parish: every hazard · River floods across the country · Louisiana

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MLUL1, 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.