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Cuyahoga River at Independence

Highest listed crest 23.29 ftFlood stage 17.0 ft78 crests since 1927

The Cuyahoga River at Independence crested at major flood stage 8 times among the 78 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1927 to 2025. The highest, 23.29 ft on June 23, 2006, was major flooding, 6.29 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
23.29 ft
June 23, 2006; 17,800 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
17.0 ft
Major flooding from 21.0 ft
Crests at major
8
10th of 129 gauges in Ohio
Most recent flood crest
June 19, 2025
17.73 ft, minor flooding
Location
Cuyahoga County
Near Garfield Heights (2.1 mi), Seven Hills (2.6 mi), Maple Heights (3.6 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Cuyahoga River at Independence
Action stage14.020Aug 24, 2023The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)17.027Jun 19, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage18.523Sep 7, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage21.08Mar 29, 2020Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

78 crests from 1927 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Cuyahoga River at Independence, 1927 to 2025 141618202224ft Flood stage 17.0 ftMajor 21.0 ft Dec 1, 1927: 17.80 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1929: 18.90 ft, moderate flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1930: 15.50 ft, action stage; 7,900 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1932: 15.54 ft, action stage; 7,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1936: 16.51 ft, action stage; 8,600 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1940: 18.80 ft, moderate flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1942: 16.90 ft, action stage; 8,970 cubic feet per secondDec 30, 1942: 16.50 ft, action stage; 8,600 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1944: 15.50 ft, action stage; 7,750 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1945: 17.20 ft, minor flooding; 9,240 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1947: 19.07 ft, moderate flooding; 12,700 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1948: 16.57 ft, action stage; 8,700 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1950: 18.05 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 1950: 15.83 ft, action stage; 7,990 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1952: 18.47 ft, minor flooding; 11,300 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1954: 16.75 ft, action stage; 9,360 cubic feet per secondOct 16, 1954: 20.04 ft, moderate flooding; 14,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1956: 16.35 ft, action stage; 8,890 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1957: 16.53 ft, action stage; 9,000 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1958: 15.48 ft, action stage; 6,730 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1959: 22.41 ft, major flooding; 24,800 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1961: 18.17 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1964: 18.47 ft, minor flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 1969: 18.76 ft, moderate flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1975: 17.88 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1976: 20.70 ft, moderate flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per secondDec 14, 1977: 20.02 ft, moderate flooding; 12,900 cubic feet per secondSep 15, 1979: 22.06 ft, major flooding; 19,700 cubic feet per secondDec 25, 1979: 16.27 ft, action stage; 9,120 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1981: 17.85 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1983: 17.60 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1984: 16.21 ft, action stage; 9,090 cubic feet per secondSep 29, 1985: 16.20 ft, action stage; 9,080 cubic feet per secondNov 5, 1985: 15.65 ft, action stage; 8,630 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1987: 17.69 ft, minor flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1989: 20.02 ft, moderate flooding; 14,300 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 1990: 20.16 ft, moderate flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per secondDec 30, 1990: 21.77 ft, major flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1992: 16.52 ft, action stage; 8,780 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1992: 18.88 ft, moderate flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1994: 20.64 ft, moderate flooding; 12,900 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1995: 18.61 ft, moderate flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1996: 17.71 ft, minor flooding; 9,450 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1997: 20.45 ft, moderate flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1998: 18.05 ft, minor flooding; 9,450 cubic feet per secondDec 17, 2000: 16.02 ft, action stage; 7,910 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2003: 21.12 ft, major flooding; 14,200 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2004: 21.66 ft, major flooding; 14,793 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 2005: 19.58 ft, moderate flooding; 11,954 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2006: 23.29 ft, major flooding; 17,800 cubic feet per secondDec 1, 2006: 18.30 ft, minor flooding; 10,203 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2007: 20.64 ft, moderate flooding; 12,948 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2007: 17.01 ft, minor flooding; 9,150 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2008: 20.55 ft, moderate flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2009: 19.27 ft, moderate flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 2011: 22.73 ft, major flooding; 19,400 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2011: 17.31 ft, minor flooding; 9,820 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2011: 17.72 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2011: 18.06 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 2011: 17.13 ft, minor flooding; 9,690 cubic feet per secondDec 6, 2011: 18.32 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondOct 30, 2012: 20.86 ft, moderate flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 2013: 18.23 ft, minor flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 2014: 18.06 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2015: 18.56 ft, moderate flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2015: 19.51 ft, moderate flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2016: 14.07 ft, action stage; 7,150 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2017: 18.50 ft, moderate flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2018: 20.89 ft, moderate flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 2019: 17.17 ft, minor flooding; 9,590 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 2019: 17.73 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2020: 21.62 ft, major flooding; 14,700 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 2020: 18.18 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 2020: 20.71 ft, moderate flooding; 13,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2022: 18.10 ft, minor flooding; 10,900 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 2023: 15.77 ft, action stage; 8,780 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2025: 17.62 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2025: 17.73 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per second Highest, 23.29 ft, Jun 23, 2006 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cuyahoga River at Independence 1920s: 2 1930s: 0 1940s: 3 1950s: 4 1960s: 3 1970s: 4 1980s: 4 1990s: 8 2000s: 9 2010s: 15 15 2020s: 6 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 78 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Cuyahoga River at Independence
1Jun 23, 200623.29+6.29Major17,800
2Feb 28, 201122.73+5.73Major19,400
3Jan 22, 195922.41+5.41Major24,800
4Sep 15, 197922.06+5.06Major19,700
5Dec 30, 199021.77+4.77Major15,000
6May 22, 200421.66+4.66Major14,793
7Mar 29, 202021.62+4.62Major14,700
8Jul 22, 200321.12+4.12Major14,200
9Apr 16, 201820.89+3.89Moderate13,800
10Oct 30, 201220.86+3.86Moderate13,800
11Sep 7, 202020.71+3.71Moderate13,300
12Feb 17, 197620.70+3.70Moderate14,000
13Aug 13, 199420.64+3.64Moderate12,900
14Jan 6, 200720.64+3.64Moderate12,948
15Feb 6, 200820.55+3.55Moderate12,300
16Jun 1, 199720.45+3.45Moderate13,500
17Sep 7, 199020.16+3.16Moderate12,200
18Oct 16, 195420.04+3.04Moderate14,300
19Dec 14, 197720.02+3.02Moderate12,900
20May 26, 198920.02+3.02Moderate14,300
21Jan 12, 200519.58+2.58Moderate11,954
22Jun 27, 201519.51+2.51Moderate11,900
23Mar 9, 200919.27+2.27Moderate11,500
24Jun 2, 194719.07+2.07Moderate12,700
25Jan 19, 192918.90+1.90Moderate12,300
26Dec 31, 199218.88+1.88Moderate10,800
27Apr 20, 194018.80+1.80Moderate12,200
28Jul 20, 196918.76+1.76Moderate13,600
29Jan 16, 199518.61+1.61Moderate10,500
30May 31, 201518.56+1.56Moderate10,800
31Jan 13, 201718.50+1.50Moderate10,700
32Jan 27, 195218.47+1.47Minor11,300
33Mar 5, 196418.47+1.47Minor12,300
34Dec 6, 201118.32+1.32Minor10,600
35Dec 1, 200618.30+1.30Minor10,203
36Dec 22, 201318.23+1.23Minor10,500
37May 16, 202018.18+1.18Minor10,400
38Apr 26, 196118.17+1.17Minor11,800
39Feb 18, 202218.10+1.10Minor10,900
40May 27, 201118.06+1.06Minor10,400
41May 13, 201418.06+1.06Minor10,300
42Jan 16, 195018.05+1.05Minor11,000
43Apr 17, 199818.05+1.05Minor9,450
44May 22, 197517.88+0.88Minor12,200
45Feb 19, 198117.85+0.85Minor10,600
46Dec 1, 192717.80+0.80Minor10,600
47Jun 21, 201917.73+0.73Minor10,000
48Jun 19, 202517.73+0.73Minor10,300
49Mar 11, 201117.72+0.72Minor10,100
50Apr 23, 199617.71+0.71Minor9,450

The worst floods along the Cuyahoga River

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

February 28, 2011: 22.73 ft here, major flooding

January 22, 1959: 22.41 ft here, major flooding

September 15, 1979: 22.06 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Cuyahoga River

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

Flood gauges on the Cuyahoga River
Hiram RapidsOH7.08.23 ft, Jan 20, 19290
Old PortageOH10.514.28 ft, Jul 10, 20130
JaiteOH12.014.38 ft, May 13, 20140
Independence this gaugeOH17.023.29 ft, Jun 23, 20068

Other gauges in Cuyahoga County

Flood gauges in Cuyahoga County
Cleveland11.016.20 ft, Aug 24, 19755
Garfield Parkway7.512.00 ft, Mar 29, 20201
Berea14.020.90 ft, Mar 25, 19132
Bedford9.510.10 ft, Jul 20, 19690
Parma 3SE10.010.93 ft, May 12, 20140

Cuyahoga County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Ohio

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge INDO1, 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.