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Mad River near Dayton

Highest listed crest 32.00 ftFlood stage 25.0 ft53 crests since 1922

The Mad River near Dayton crested above flood stage 3 times among the 53 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1922 to 2025. The highest, 32.00 ft on January 23, 1959, was moderate flooding, 7.00 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
32.00 ft
January 23, 1959; 21,200 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
25.0 ft
Major flooding from 52.0 ft
Crests at major
0
3 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 5, 1963
27.10 ft, minor flooding
Location
Greene County
Near Riverside (2.1 mi), Fairborn (4.3 mi), Huber Heights (4.4 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Mad River near Dayton
Action stage15.049Apr 6, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)25.02Mar 5, 1963Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage32.01Jan 23, 1959Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage52.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

53 crests from 1922 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Mad River near Dayton, 1922 to 2025 102030405060ft Flood stage 25.0 ftMajor 52.0 ft Apr 15, 1922: 17.70 ft, action stageMar 29, 1924: 21.00 ft, action stage; 12,500 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1924: 19.80 ft, action stageJan 20, 1927: 16.90 ft, action stage; 9,880 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1927: 16.20 ft, action stageJan 19, 1929: 15.90 ft, action stageFeb 26, 1929: 28.20 ft, minor flooding; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1930: 15.50 ft, action stageDec 31, 1932: 17.50 ft, action stageMar 19, 1933: 15.10 ft, action stageMay 14, 1933: 19.70 ft, action stage; 12,500 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1937: 22.80 ft, action stageJan 21, 1937: 24.00 ft, action stage; 15,400 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1943: 19.10 ft, action stage; 11,200 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1945: 19.50 ft, action stage; 11,400 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1947: 20.00 ft, action stage; 12,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1948: 22.30 ft, action stage; 13,300 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 1949: 17.40 ft, action stage; 9,440 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 1950: 15.10 ft, action stage; 7,640 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1950: 14.90 ft, below flood stage; 7,430 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1950: 16.80 ft, action stage; 9,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1950: 15.80 ft, action stage; 8,290 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1950: 17.40 ft, action stage; 9,680 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1951: 17.50 ft, action stage; 9,680 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1952: 23.80 ft, action stage; 13,300 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1957: 18.70 ft, action stage; 10,400 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1958: 19.50 ft, action stage; 10,700 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1959: 32.00 ft, moderate flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 1959: 20.20 ft, action stage; 11,600 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1963: 27.10 ft, minor flooding; 18,500 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1964: 20.70 ft, action stage; 12,800 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1968: 15.70 ft, action stage; 8,800 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 1970: 16.60 ft, action stage; 9,170 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1975: 19.00 ft, action stage; 11,400 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1980: 17.10 ft, action stage; 9,640 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1981: 16.90 ft, action stage; 9,470 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 1982: 17.70 ft, action stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1989: 15.00 ft, action stageDec 31, 1990: 18.30 ft, action stage; 10,700 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1996: 16.80 ft, action stage; 9,380 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1996: 15.80 ft, action stage; 8,490 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1998: 15.60 ft, action stage; 8,330 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 2000: 15.40 ft, action stage; 8,210 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 2004: 18.60 ft, action stage; 11,000 cubic feet per secondJan 6, 2005: 19.22 ft, action stage; 11,600 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 2005: 18.00 ft, action stage; 10,400 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 2007: 16.30 ft, action stage; 8,990 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 2007: 15.90 ft, action stage; 8,640 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2008: 17.40 ft, action stage; 9,890 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2008: 16.30 ft, action stage; 8,950 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 2013: 16.72 ft, action stage; 9,320 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 2018: 19.21 ft, action stage; 11,600 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 2025: 16.88 ft, action stage Highest, 32.00 ft, Jan 23, 1959 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Mad River near Dayton 1920s: 1 1 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 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.
  3. 1 crest measured on an earlier gauge datum is left out: 14.00 ft on Mar 25, 1913.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 53 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Mad River near Dayton
1Jan 23, 195932.00+7.00Moderate21,200
2Feb 26, 192928.20+3.20Minor18,400
3Mar 5, 196327.10+2.10Minor18,500
4Jan 21, 193724.00−1.00Action15,400
5Jan 27, 195223.80−1.20Action13,300
6Jan 15, 193722.80−2.20Action—
7Feb 14, 194822.30−2.70Action13,300
8Mar 29, 192421.00−4.00Action12,500
9Mar 10, 196420.70−4.30Action12,800
10Feb 11, 195920.20−4.80Action11,600
11Jun 3, 194720.00−5.00Action12,000
12Jun 9, 192419.80−5.20Action—
13May 14, 193319.70−5.30Action12,500
14Mar 7, 194519.50−5.50Action11,400
15Jun 14, 195819.50−5.50Action10,700
16Jan 6, 200519.22−5.78Action11,600
17Apr 4, 201819.21−5.79Action11,600
18Mar 20, 194319.10−5.90Action11,200
19Feb 24, 197519.00−6.00Action11,400
20Apr 5, 195718.70−6.30Action10,400
21Jan 5, 200418.60−6.40Action11,000
22Dec 31, 199018.30−6.70Action10,700
23Jan 12, 200518.00−7.00Action10,400
24Apr 15, 192217.70−7.30Action—
25Feb 1, 198217.70−7.30Action10,200
26Dec 31, 193217.50−7.50Action—
27Feb 22, 195117.50−7.50Action9,680
28Jan 6, 194917.40−7.60Action9,440
29Dec 4, 195017.40−7.60Action9,680
30Mar 20, 200817.40−7.60Action9,890
31Jun 29, 198017.10−7.90Action9,640
32Jan 20, 192716.90−8.10Action9,880
33Jun 6, 198116.90−8.10Action9,470
34Apr 6, 202516.88−8.12Action—
35Jan 17, 195016.80−8.20Action9,200
36Apr 30, 199616.80−8.20Action9,380
37Dec 22, 201316.72−8.28Action9,320
38Apr 3, 197016.60−8.40Action9,170
39Mar 3, 200716.30−8.70Action8,990
40Jun 5, 200816.30−8.70Action8,950
41Mar 21, 192716.20−8.80Action—
42Jan 19, 192915.90−9.10Action—
43Mar 24, 200715.90−9.10Action8,640
44Feb 15, 195015.80−9.20Action8,290
45May 12, 199615.80−9.20Action8,490
46May 28, 196815.70−9.30Action8,800
47May 8, 199815.60−9.40Action8,330
48Jan 10, 193015.50−9.50Action—
49Apr 8, 200015.40−9.60Action8,210
50Mar 19, 193315.10−9.90Action—

Gauges on the Mad River

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

Flood gauges on the Mad River
SpringfieldOH12.014.13 ft, Apr 5, 20250
Dayton this gaugeOH25.032.00 ft, Jan 23, 19590

Other gauges in Greene County

Flood gauges in Greene County
Spring Valley11.019.20 ft, Jan 21, 19592

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MRDO1, 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.