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Pearl River near Bogalusa

Highest listed crest 23.23 ftFlood stage 18.0 ft112 crests since 1938

The Pearl River near Bogalusa crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 112 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1938 to 2026. The highest, 23.23 ft on April 24, 1979, was major flooding, 5.23 feet above flood stage. 6 other gauges on the Pearl River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 5 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
23.23 ft
April 24, 1979; 129,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
18.0 ft
Major flooding from 23.0 ft
Crests at major
1
66th of 107 gauges in Louisiana
Most recent flood crest
July 1, 2026
20.45 ft, minor flooding
Location
Washington Parish
Near Bogalusa (2.7 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Pearl River near Bogalusa
Action stage16.02Jan 24, 1963The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)18.083Jul 1, 2026Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage21.025Sep 5, 2022Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage23.01Apr 24, 1979Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

112 crests from 1938 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Pearl River near Bogalusa, 1938 to 2026 141618202224ft Flood stage 18.0 ftMajor 23.0 ft Apr 11, 1938: 21.00 ft, moderate floodingJun 4, 1939: 19.28 ft, minor flooding; 38,800 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1940: 19.66 ft, minor flooding; 45,500 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1941: 18.84 ft, minor flooding; 28,200 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1942: 18.26 ft, minor flooding; 21,500 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1943: 20.22 ft, minor flooding; 57,800 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1944: 19.68 ft, minor flooding; 45,700 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1945: 19.28 ft, minor flooding; 36,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1946: 20.05 ft, minor flooding; 53,000 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 1947: 20.30 ft, minor flooding; 60,000 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1948: 20.27 ft, minor flooding; 59,200 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1949: 20.13 ft, minor flooding; 54,400 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1950: 20.32 ft, minor flooding; 55,100 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1951: 19.50 ft, minor flooding; 37,700 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1952: 16.41 ft, action stage; 13,200 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1953: 20.14 ft, minor flooding; 50,400 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1953: 18.51 ft, minor flooding; 22,500 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1955: 20.15 ft, minor flooding; 52,700 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1956: 19.28 ft, minor flooding; 33,700 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1957: 19.22 ft, minor flooding; 32,400 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1958: 19.74 ft, minor flooding; 42,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 1959: 18.50 ft, minor flooding; 24,000 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1960: 19.30 ft, minor flooding; 34,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1961: 21.70 ft, moderate flooding; 88,200 cubic feet per secondDec 29, 1961: 20.98 ft, minor flooding; 70,800 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 1963: 17.95 ft, action stage; 20,200 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1964: 19.59 ft, minor flooding; 39,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1965: 19.58 ft, minor flooding; 39,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1966: 20.58 ft, minor flooding; 61,300 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1968: 19.16 ft, minor flooding; 31,300 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1969: 19.94 ft, minor flooding; 44,600 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1970: 18.30 ft, minor flooding; 20,500 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1971: 19.61 ft, minor flooding; 39,700 cubic feet per secondDec 13, 1971: 19.91 ft, minor flooding; 45,200 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1973: 20.47 ft, minor flooding; 58,000 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1974: 22.13 ft, moderate flooding; 99,000 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1975: 20.38 ft, minor flooding; 55,800 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1976: 20.41 ft, minor flooding; 56,500 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1977: 20.12 ft, minor flooding; 49,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1978: 19.52 ft, minor flooding; 37,300 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1979: 23.23 ft, major flooding; 129,000 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1980: 22.42 ft, moderate flooding; 107,000 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1981: 18.96 ft, minor flooding; 27,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1982: 19.31 ft, minor flooding; 34,400 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1983: 22.78 ft, moderate flooding; 114,000 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1984: 19.90 ft, minor flooding; 41,300 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1985: 19.81 ft, minor flooding; 39,900 cubic feet per secondNov 1, 1985: 19.70 ft, minor flooding; 42,200 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1987: 21.18 ft, moderate flooding; 71,200 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1988: 20.11 ft, minor flooding; 49,000 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1989: 20.33 ft, minor flooding; 40,200 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1990: 21.77 ft, moderate flooding; 87,300 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1991: 22.17 ft, moderate flooding; 98,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1992: 19.93 ft, minor flooding; 36,600 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1993: 20.93 ft, minor flooding; 655,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 1994: 20.89 ft, minor flooding; 64,100 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1995: 20.73 ft, minor flooding; 58,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1996: 20.57 ft, minor flooding; 53,700 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1997: 20.68 ft, minor flooding; 57,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1999: 20.49 ft, minor flooding; 39,900 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2000: 20.32 ft, minor flooding; 37,400 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2001: 21.68 ft, moderate flooding; 65,000 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2002: 20.08 ft, minor flooding; 34,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 2003: 21.77 ft, moderate flooding; 82,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2004: 21.50 ft, moderate flooding; 75,700 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 2004: 20.69 ft, minor flooding; 49,400 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2005: 20.37 ft, minor floodingMar 10, 2006: 20.49 ft, minor flooding; 39,800 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 2007: 20.58 ft, minor flooding; 41,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 29, 2008: 20.54 ft, minor flooding; 40,900 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2009: 21.99 ft, moderate flooding; 71,800 cubic feet per secondDec 20, 2009: 21.13 ft, moderate flooding; 54,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 2010: 20.92 ft, minor flooding; 49,600 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2011: 20.85 ft, minor flooding; 48,100 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2012: 20.99 ft, minor flooding; 51,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2013: 21.14 ft, moderate flooding; 54,500 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2014: 21.73 ft, moderate flooding; 60,900 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2015: 20.50 ft, minor flooding; 31,916 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 2016: 21.07 ft, moderate flooding; 42,800 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2016: 22.75 ft, moderate flooding; 111,053 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 2016: 15.30 ft, below flood stageJun 7, 2017: 18.40 ft, minor floodingDec 30, 2018: 21.23 ft, moderate flooding; 46,600 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 2019: 21.08 ft, moderate flooding; 43,000 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 2020: 21.55 ft, moderate floodingFeb 25, 2020: 22.60 ft, moderate floodingMay 1, 2020: 21.04 ft, moderate floodingFeb 14, 2021: 19.98 ft, minor floodingFeb 22, 2021: 19.97 ft, minor floodingApr 17, 2021: 21.36 ft, moderate floodingMay 16, 2021: 19.75 ft, minor floodingMay 24, 2021: 18.88 ft, minor floodingJun 9, 2021: 18.50 ft, minor floodingJun 22, 2021: 20.05 ft, minor floodingJul 22, 2021: 19.72 ft, minor floodingSep 4, 2021: 19.74 ft, minor floodingSep 17, 2021: 19.26 ft, minor floodingFeb 4, 2022: 18.24 ft, minor floodingMar 29, 2022: 21.01 ft, moderate floodingSep 5, 2022: 21.29 ft, moderate floodingDec 21, 2022: 20.18 ft, minor floodingJan 5, 2023: 19.04 ft, minor floodingFeb 6, 2025: 18.89 ft, minor floodingFeb 21, 2025: 20.63 ft, minor floodingMar 10, 2025: 18.67 ft, minor floodingMar 20, 2025: 18.87 ft, minor floodingApr 12, 2025: 20.27 ft, minor floodingMay 20, 2025: 20.17 ft, minor floodingJun 2, 2025: 19.22 ft, minor floodingJun 19, 2025: 19.08 ft, minor floodingMay 10, 2026: 20.03 ft, minor floodingJul 1, 2026: 20.45 ft, minor flooding Highest, 23.23 ft, Apr 24, 1979 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Pearl River near Bogalusa 1930s: 2 1940s: 10 1950s: 9 1960s: 8 1970s: 10 1980s: 10 1990s: 9 2000s: 12 2010s: 11 2020s: 28 28 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 112 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Pearl River near Bogalusa
1Apr 24, 197923.23+5.23Major129,000
2Apr 8, 198322.78+4.78Moderate114,000
3Mar 13, 201622.75+4.75Moderate111,053
4Feb 25, 202022.60+4.60Moderate—
5Mar 31, 198022.42+4.42Moderate107,000
6May 11, 199122.17+4.17Moderate98,500
7Apr 17, 197422.13+4.13Moderate99,000
8Mar 30, 200921.99+3.99Moderate71,800
9Jan 29, 199021.77+3.77Moderate87,300
10Feb 27, 200321.77+3.77Moderate82,800
11Apr 15, 201421.73+3.73Moderate60,900
12Feb 23, 196121.70+3.70Moderate88,200
13Mar 6, 200121.68+3.68Moderate65,000
14Jan 23, 202021.55+3.55Moderate—
15Feb 16, 200421.50+3.50Moderate75,700
16Apr 17, 202121.36+3.36Moderate—
17Sep 5, 202221.29+3.29Moderate—
18Dec 30, 201821.23+3.23Moderate46,600
19Mar 3, 198721.18+3.18Moderate71,200
20Feb 26, 201321.14+3.14Moderate54,500
21Dec 20, 200921.13+3.13Moderate54,300
22Apr 22, 201921.08+3.08Moderate43,000
23Feb 12, 201621.07+3.07Moderate42,800
24May 1, 202021.04+3.04Moderate—
25Mar 29, 202221.01+3.01Moderate—
26Apr 11, 193821.00+3.00Moderate—
27Sep 3, 201220.99+2.99Minor51,700
28Dec 29, 196120.98+2.98Minor70,800
29Jan 21, 199320.93+2.93Minor655,000
30Feb 12, 201020.92+2.92Minor49,600
31Feb 1, 199420.89+2.89Minor64,100
32Mar 15, 201120.85+2.85Minor48,100
33Mar 20, 199520.73+2.73Minor58,700
34Dec 16, 200420.69+2.69Minor49,400
35May 2, 199720.68+2.68Minor57,100
36Feb 21, 202520.63+2.63Minor—
37Feb 17, 196620.58+2.58Minor61,300
38Jan 12, 200720.58+2.58Minor41,700
39Feb 9, 199620.57+2.57Minor53,700
40Feb 29, 200820.54+2.54Minor40,900
41Mar 9, 201520.50+2.50Minor31,916
42Feb 8, 199920.49+2.49Minor39,900
43Mar 10, 200620.49+2.49Minor39,800
44Mar 30, 197320.47+2.47Minor58,000
45Jul 1, 202620.45+2.45Minor—
46Apr 8, 197620.41+2.41Minor56,500
47May 12, 197520.38+2.38Minor55,800
48Apr 13, 200520.37+2.37Minor—
49May 26, 198920.33+2.33Minor40,200
50Jan 13, 195020.32+2.32Minor55,100

The worst floods along the Pearl River

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

April 24, 1979: 23.23 ft here, major flooding

  • JacksonMS · Apr 17, 1979 · 43.28 ft · Major · its highest
  • RockportMS · Apr 18, 1979 · 42.83 ft · Major · its highest
  • MonticelloMS · Apr 20, 1979 · 34.08 ft · Major · its highest
  • LenaMS · Apr 17, 1979 · 32.70 ft · Major · its highest
  • ColumbiaMS · Apr 22, 1979 · 27.80 ft · Major · its highest
  • Pearl RiverLA · Apr 26, 1979 · 19.25 ft · Major

April 8, 1983: 22.78 ft here, moderate flooding

  • ColumbiaMS · Apr 8, 1983 · 26.20 ft · Major
  • Pearl RiverLA · Apr 9, 1983 · 21.05 ft · Major · its highest
  • JacksonMS · Apr 8, 1983 · 35.58 ft · Moderate
  • MonticelloMS · Apr 9, 1983 · 30.53 ft · Moderate

March 13, 2016: 22.75 ft here, moderate flooding

  • Pearl RiverLA · Mar 14, 2016 · 20.35 ft · Major
  • JacksonMS · Mar 16, 2016 · 33.30 ft · Moderate
  • MonticelloMS · Mar 20, 2016 · 27.87 ft · Moderate
  • Philadelphia/at BurnsideMS · Mar 13, 2016 · 16.74 ft · Moderate
  • Ratliff's FerryMS · Mar 15, 2016 · 305.96 ft · Minor
  • RockportMS · Mar 19, 2016 · 32.05 ft · Minor
  • LenaMS · Mar 13, 2016 · 26.36 ft · Minor
  • EdinburgMS · Mar 14, 2016 · 25.38 ft · Minor
  • CarthageMS · Mar 15, 2016 · 23.20 ft · Minor
  • SlidellLA · Mar 15, 2016 · 11.12 ft · Minor · its highest

Gauges on the Pearl River

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

Flood gauges on the Pearl River
Philadelphia/at BurnsideMS13.023.60 ft, Apr 13, 19791
EdinburgMS20.028.35 ft, May 22, 19830
CarthageMS17.028.74 ft, Apr 14, 19793
LenaMS24.032.70 ft, Apr 17, 19792
Ratliff's FerryMS303.0313.10 ft, Apr 14, 19790
JacksonMS28.043.28 ft, Apr 17, 19798
RockportMS25.042.83 ft, Apr 18, 19794
MonticelloMS22.034.08 ft, Apr 20, 19791
ColumbiaMS17.027.80 ft, Apr 22, 19795
Bogalusa this gaugeLA18.023.23 ft, Apr 24, 19791
Pearl RiverLA14.021.05 ft, Apr 9, 198315
SlidellLA10.011.12 ft, Mar 15, 20160

Other gauges in Washington Parish

Flood gauges in Washington Parish
Franklinton12.029.60 ft, Apr 15, 19005

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BXAL1, 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.