Highest listed crest 30.69 ft December 28, 2015; 126,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage 11.0 ft Major flooding from 18.0 ft
Crests at major 35 3rd of 92 gauges in Oklahoma
Most recent flood crest June 15, 2026 11.79 ft, minor flooding Listed crests at the Illinois River (AR OK) near Tahlequah, 1916 to 2026 0 10 20 30 40 ft Flood stage 11.0 ft Major 18.0 ft Jan 1, 1916: 26.00 ft, major flooding Apr 1, 1927: 22.30 ft, major flooding Jan 26, 1929: 13.50 ft, minor flooding Apr 10, 1929: 14.45 ft, moderate flooding Apr 15, 1929: 11.50 ft, minor flooding May 9, 1929: 14.35 ft, moderate flooding May 13, 1929: 13.90 ft, minor flooding May 19, 1929: 11.60 ft, minor flooding Jul 8, 1929: 11.60 ft, minor flooding Jan 14, 1930: 11.30 ft, minor flooding May 12, 1930: 11.60 ft, minor flooding Jan 23, 1932: 13.50 ft, minor flooding Jun 8, 1935: 15.69 ft, moderate flooding Jun 18, 1935: 19.13 ft, major flooding Jan 16, 1937: 13.65 ft, minor flooding; 14,500 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 1937: 11.42 ft, minor flooding Sep 11, 1937: 11.49 ft, minor flooding Feb 18, 1938: 19.67 ft, major flooding; 39,400 cubic feet per second Mar 29, 1938: 13.14 ft, minor flooding May 24, 1938: 13.14 ft, minor flooding Feb 21, 1939: 10.80 ft, action stage; 6,400 cubic feet per second Apr 12, 1940: 10.39 ft, action stage; 5,600 cubic feet per second Jan 2, 1941: 15.22 ft, moderate flooding; 20,500 cubic feet per second Apr 16, 1941: 13.10 ft, minor flooding; 13,300 cubic feet per second Apr 20, 1941: 19.56 ft, major flooding; 41,400 cubic feet per second Oct 17, 1941: 12.57 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per second Nov 1, 1941: 17.71 ft, moderate flooding; 30,000 cubic feet per second Apr 10, 1942: 11.83 ft, minor flooding; 9,200 cubic feet per second Apr 29, 1942: 15.41 ft, moderate flooding; 20,600 cubic feet per second Oct 31, 1942: 16.66 ft, moderate flooding; 25,800 cubic feet per second Nov 9, 1942: 13.64 ft, minor flooding; 14,200 cubic feet per second Dec 28, 1942: 17.33 ft, moderate flooding; 29,400 cubic feet per second May 11, 1943: 25.37 ft, major flooding; 93,200 cubic feet per second May 21, 1943: 14.53 ft, moderate flooding; 18,400 cubic feet per second Mar 17, 1944: 12.72 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 1944: 15.82 ft, moderate flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per second Apr 12, 1944: 11.06 ft, minor flooding; 8,300 cubic feet per second Feb 22, 1945: 14.85 ft, moderate flooding; 19,800 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 1945: 15.14 ft, moderate flooding; 20,800 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 1945: 21.12 ft, major flooding; 51,000 cubic feet per second Apr 15, 1945: 23.60 ft, major flooding; 68,800 cubic feet per second Jun 12, 1945: 12.88 ft, minor flooding; 14,600 cubic feet per second Feb 15, 1946: 12.81 ft, minor flooding; 14,000 cubic feet per second May 26, 1946: 15.99 ft, moderate flooding; 25,800 cubic feet per second Nov 8, 1946: 12.23 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per second Dec 13, 1946: 14.36 ft, moderate flooding; 19,800 cubic feet per second May 17, 1947: 12.87 ft, minor flooding; 14,700 cubic feet per second Jun 3, 1947: 11.49 ft, minor flooding; 10,500 cubic feet per second Aug 15, 1948: 19.21 ft, major flooding; 41,400 cubic feet per second Feb 16, 1949: 13.29 ft, minor flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per second May 20, 1949: 13.36 ft, minor flooding; 16,700 cubic feet per second Jan 15, 1950: 12.70 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per second Feb 14, 1950: 11.46 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per second May 10, 1950: 27.94 ft, major flooding; 150,000 cubic feet per second Feb 21, 1951: 18.22 ft, major flooding; 38,000 cubic feet per second Apr 13, 1952: 10.24 ft, action stage; 7,980 cubic feet per second May 14, 1953: 11.21 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per second May 3, 1954: 13.13 ft, minor flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per second Feb 21, 1955: 13.02 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per second Mar 22, 1955: 13.55 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per second May 16, 1956: 11.40 ft, minor flooding; 8,350 cubic feet per second Apr 4, 1957: 21.60 ft, major flooding; 55,400 cubic feet per second May 19, 1957: 16.16 ft, moderate flooding; 23,800 cubic feet per second May 26, 1957: 18.17 ft, major flooding; 35,100 cubic feet per second Jun 3, 1957: 13.10 ft, minor flooding; 13 cubic feet per second Jun 11, 1957: 12.34 ft, minor flooding; 11,400 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 1958: 11.59 ft, minor flooding; 8,180 cubic feet per second May 4, 1958: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 9,440 cubic feet per second Jul 13, 1958: 16.89 ft, moderate flooding; 25,800 cubic feet per second Mar 6, 1959: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 9,220 cubic feet per second Jul 24, 1959: 12.70 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per second Oct 4, 1959: 13.63 ft, minor flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per second Nov 5, 1959: 14.64 ft, moderate flooding; 15,600 cubic feet per second May 7, 1960: 17.19 ft, moderate flooding; 25,000 cubic feet per second May 22, 1960: 13.41 ft, minor flooding; 11,700 cubic feet per second Jul 26, 1960: 20.72 ft, major flooding; 48,600 cubic feet per second May 8, 1961: 21.38 ft, major flooding; 54,200 cubic feet per second May 21, 1961: 16.22 ft, moderate flooding; 25,000 cubic feet per second Jul 15, 1961: 11.27 ft, minor flooding; 7,280 cubic feet per second Aug 16, 1961: 15.90 ft, moderate flooding; 19,600 cubic feet per second Aug 2, 1962: 10.99 ft, action stage; 7,900 cubic feet per second Oct 9, 1962: 8.12 ft, below flood stage; 3,660 cubic feet per second May 12, 1964: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 3,180 cubic feet per second Mar 7, 1965: 13.15 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Apr 7, 1965: 13.15 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Feb 11, 1966: 17.58 ft, moderate flooding; 26,000 cubic feet per second Apr 25, 1966: 12.23 ft, minor flooding; 9,670 cubic feet per second Apr 15, 1967: 8.67 ft, below flood stage; 4,270 cubic feet per second Feb 3, 1968: 15.38 ft, moderate flooding; 17,300 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 1968: 13.34 ft, minor flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per second Nov 29, 1968: 11.77 ft, minor flooding; 7,590 cubic feet per second Dec 29, 1968: 16.05 ft, moderate flooding; 19,100 cubic feet per second Jan 31, 1969: 19.09 ft, major flooding; 31,900 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 1969: 14.09 ft, moderate flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per second Mar 10, 1970: 11.44 ft, minor flooding; 7,730 cubic feet per second May 2, 1970: 14.50 ft, moderate flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per second Oct 28, 1970: 16.91 ft, moderate flooding; 20,300 cubic feet per second Oct 10, 1971: 11.59 ft, minor flooding; 7,630 cubic feet per second Oct 28, 1971: 16.91 ft, moderate flooding; 20,300 cubic feet per second Dec 11, 1971: 15.16 ft, moderate flooding; 12,100 cubic feet per second Dec 15, 1971: 10.99 ft, action stage; 6,120 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 1972: 13.77 ft, minor flooding; 9,440 cubic feet per second May 5, 1972: 11.12 ft, minor flooding; 6,080 cubic feet per second Jul 13, 1972: 17.11 ft, moderate flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per second Feb 9, 1973: 12.52 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per second Mar 12, 1973: 15.89 ft, moderate flooding; 18,200 cubic feet per second Mar 26, 1973: 14.58 ft, moderate flooding; 14,600 cubic feet per second Apr 17, 1973: 12.45 ft, minor flooding; 9,900 cubic feet per second Apr 24, 1973: 14.28 ft, moderate flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per second Jun 5, 1973: 14.03 ft, moderate flooding; 13,300 cubic feet per second Nov 26, 1973: 21.73 ft, major flooding; 52,300 cubic feet per second Dec 5, 1973: 15.55 ft, moderate flooding; 17,200 cubic feet per second Apr 23, 1974: 12.34 ft, minor flooding; 9,840 cubic feet per second Jun 9, 1974: 23.02 ft, major flooding; 66,400 cubic feet per second Nov 4, 1974: 18.58 ft, major flooding; 31,700 cubic feet per second Feb 24, 1975: 14.43 ft, moderate flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 1975: 12.50 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per second Mar 29, 1975: 13.18 ft, minor flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per second Sep 21, 1975: 14.58 ft, moderate flooding; 16,100 cubic feet per second Apr 21, 1976: 18.52 ft, major flooding; 33,000 cubic feet per second Mar 29, 1977: 12.29 ft, minor flooding; 10,400 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 1978: 16.43 ft, moderate flooding; 22,200 cubic feet per second May 9, 1978: 13.17 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Apr 13, 1979: 14.85 ft, moderate flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 1980: 7.12 ft, below flood stage; 2,700 cubic feet per second Jul 2, 1981: 9.42 ft, action stage; 4,550 cubic feet per second Feb 1, 1982: 15.10 ft, moderate flooding; 17,900 cubic feet per second Jun 17, 1982: 16.95 ft, moderate flooding; 25,300 cubic feet per second Dec 4, 1982: 14.44 ft, moderate flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 1984: 11.91 ft, minor flooding; 9,710 cubic feet per second Dec 22, 1984: 20.35 ft, major flooding; 45,700 cubic feet per second Jan 2, 1985: 15.56 ft, moderate flooding; 21,100 cubic feet per second Feb 24, 1985: 16.56 ft, moderate flooding; 25,300 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 1985: 12.65 ft, minor flooding; 12,600 cubic feet per second May 2, 1985: 11.29 ft, minor flooding; 9,610 cubic feet per second Jun 6, 1985: 11.61 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per second Nov 20, 1985: 17.88 ft, moderate flooding; 32,500 cubic feet per second Apr 9, 1986: 15.73 ft, moderate flooding; 22,100 cubic feet per second Oct 1, 1986: 22.54 ft, major flooding; 56,800 cubic feet per second Mar 19, 1987: 13.16 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per second Dec 21, 1987: 14.77 ft, moderate flooding; 16,800 cubic feet per second Dec 27, 1987: 17.60 ft, moderate flooding; 28,300 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 1988: 11.67 ft, minor flooding; 9,750 cubic feet per second Mar 30, 1988: 15.93 ft, moderate flooding; 20,700 cubic feet per second Feb 16, 1989: 11.83 ft, minor flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per second Feb 17, 1990: 11.81 ft, minor flooding; 12,200 cubic feet per second Mar 16, 1990: 15.49 ft, moderate flooding; 23,700 cubic feet per second Apr 18, 1990: 14.05 ft, moderate flooding; 18,800 cubic feet per second May 4, 1990: 21.47 ft, major flooding; 54,900 cubic feet per second Apr 15, 1991: 11.87 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per second Feb 26, 1993: 11.51 ft, minor flooding; 9,258 cubic feet per second Apr 16, 1993: 12.18 ft, minor flooding; 8,660 cubic feet per second May 11, 1993: 14.78 ft, moderate flooding; 9,691 cubic feet per second Sep 16, 1993: 11.65 ft, minor flooding; 9,524 cubic feet per second Nov 15, 1993: 13.37 ft, minor flooding; 9,332 cubic feet per second Nov 6, 1994: 12.34 ft, minor flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per second Jan 15, 1995: 12.99 ft, minor flooding; 15,200 cubic feet per second Apr 21, 1995: 12.07 ft, minor flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per second May 9, 1995: 14.71 ft, moderate flooding; 16,700 cubic feet per second Jun 12, 1995: 13.04 ft, minor flooding; 15,400 cubic feet per second Sep 28, 1996: 14.30 ft, moderate flooding; 19,200 cubic feet per second Nov 8, 1996: 13.80 ft, minor flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per second Nov 26, 1996: 13.60 ft, minor flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per second Feb 22, 1997: 14.90 ft, moderate flooding; 21,100 cubic feet per second Jan 6, 1998: 16.20 ft, moderate flooding; 25,700 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 1998: 11.90 ft, minor flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per second May 6, 1999: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per second Jul 2, 1999: 14.50 ft, moderate flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per second Jun 22, 2000: 18.00 ft, major flooding; 35,100 cubic feet per second Jun 30, 2000: 16.60 ft, moderate flooding; 29,400 cubic feet per second Feb 25, 2001: 15.60 ft, moderate flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per second Dec 18, 2001: 14.00 ft, moderate flooding; 19,700 cubic feet per second Apr 9, 2002: 14.01 ft, moderate flooding; 19,800 cubic feet per second Apr 25, 2004: 17.08 ft, moderate flooding; 31,100 cubic feet per second Jul 4, 2004: 13.52 ft, minor flooding; 18,300 cubic feet per second Jan 6, 2005: 14.47 ft, moderate flooding; 21,400 cubic feet per second Jan 14, 2005: 12.48 ft, minor flooding Dec 1, 2006: 12.42 ft, minor flooding; 15,100 cubic feet per second Jan 15, 2007: 11.85 ft, minor flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per second Feb 18, 2008: 12.52 ft, minor flooding; 154,000 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 2008: 22.29 ft, major flooding; 61,800 cubic feet per second Apr 2, 2008: 13.61 ft, minor flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per second Apr 11, 2008: 18.49 ft, major flooding; 37,200 cubic feet per second Sep 16, 2008: 11.90 ft, minor flooding; 13,700 cubic feet per second May 5, 2009: 11.33 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Oct 10, 2009: 17.65 ft, moderate flooding Oct 31, 2009: 11.20 ft, minor flooding Apr 26, 2011: 25.97 ft, major flooding; 85,400 cubic feet per second May 25, 2011: 21.12 ft, major flooding; 51,100 cubic feet per second Mar 21, 2012: 12.06 ft, minor flooding May 11, 2013: 15.11 ft, moderate flooding May 23, 2013: 10.34 ft, action stage Aug 9, 2013: 11.57 ft, minor flooding Oct 14, 2014: 9.89 ft, action stage May 25, 2015: 15.43 ft, moderate flooding May 31, 2015: 11.10 ft, minor flooding Jun 20, 2015: 15.75 ft, moderate flooding; 24,772 cubic feet per second Jul 11, 2015: 12.93 ft, minor flooding; 14,439 cubic feet per second Jul 23, 2015: 9.33 ft, action stage; 5,644 cubic feet per second Nov 18, 2015: 10.32 ft, action stage; 6,447 cubic feet per second Nov 29, 2015: 12.65 ft, minor flooding; 12,136 cubic feet per second Dec 15, 2015: 13.23 ft, minor flooding; 13,837 cubic feet per second Dec 28, 2015: 30.69 ft, major flooding; 126,000 cubic feet per second May 26, 2016: 8.95 ft, below flood stage Apr 23, 2017: 16.26 ft, moderate flooding; 26,283 cubic feet per second Apr 30, 2017: 29.29 ft, major flooding; 108,000 cubic feet per second May 21, 2017: 13.94 ft, minor flooding; 16,558 cubic feet per second Feb 25, 2018: 19.58 ft, major flooding; 36,666 cubic feet per second Mar 1, 2018: 9.41 ft, action stage; 6,968 cubic feet per second Mar 28, 2018: 14.86 ft, moderate flooding; 24,656 cubic feet per second May 5, 2018: 13.38 ft, minor flooding; 19,853 cubic feet per second Dec 28, 2018: 9.72 ft, action stage; 6,207 cubic feet per second Jan 5, 2019: 11.79 ft, minor flooding; 10,836 cubic feet per second Jan 13, 2019: 9.66 ft, action stage; 6,089 cubic feet per second Jan 20, 2019: 9.14 ft, action stage; 5,131 cubic feet per second Apr 15, 2019: 8.90 ft, below flood stage; 4,714 cubic feet per second May 2, 2019: 14.02 ft, moderate flooding; 17,147 cubic feet per second May 22, 2019: 10.32 ft, action stage; 7,427 cubic feet per second May 31, 2019: 11.00 ft, minor flooding; 8,926 cubic feet per second Jun 8, 2019: 14.49 ft, moderate flooding; 18,647 cubic feet per second Jun 25, 2019: 16.79 ft, moderate flooding; 26,843 cubic feet per second Sep 27, 2019: 9.75 ft, action stage; 6,276 cubic feet per second Oct 7, 2019: 21.10 ft, major flooding; 49,200 cubic feet per second Oct 12, 2019: 13.91 ft, minor flooding; 16,811 cubic feet per second Oct 26, 2019: 13.10 ft, minor flooding; 14,382 cubic feet per second Oct 31, 2019: 10.55 ft, action stage; 7,915 cubic feet per second Nov 8, 2019: 14.46 ft, moderate flooding; 18,557 cubic feet per second Dec 1, 2019: 12.60 ft, minor flooding; 12,979 cubic feet per second Jan 12, 2020: 15.45 ft, moderate flooding; 21,895 cubic feet per second Jan 19, 2020: 10.02 ft, action stage; 6,806 cubic feet per second Mar 15, 2020: 12.62 ft, minor flooding; 13,305 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 2020: 20.47 ft, major flooding; 45,712 cubic feet per second May 16, 2020: 11.35 ft, minor flooding; 9,910 cubic feet per second May 27, 2020: 12.75 ft, minor flooding; 13,677 cubic feet per second Apr 29, 2021: 21.83 ft, major flooding; 53,500 cubic feet per second May 29, 2021: 10.60 ft, action stage; 8,137 cubic feet per second Jul 19, 2021: 9.43 ft, action stage; 5,768 cubic feet per second Dec 19, 2021: 14.94 ft, moderate flooding; 20,821 cubic feet per second Feb 18, 2022: 9.31 ft, action stage; 5,486 cubic feet per second Mar 23, 2022: 9.57 ft, action stage; 5,993 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 2022: 9.60 ft, action stage; 6,051 cubic feet per second Apr 14, 2022: 12.69 ft, minor flooding; 13,494 cubic feet per second Apr 26, 2022: 12.83 ft, minor flooding; 13,907 cubic feet per second May 6, 2022: 27.53 ft, major flooding; 94,884 cubic feet per second Jun 9, 2022: 9.49 ft, action stage; 5,836 cubic feet per second Feb 9, 2023: 11.18 ft, minor flooding; 10,010 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 2023: 12.87 ft, minor flooding; 14,083 cubic feet per second Mar 9, 2023: 9.45 ft, action stage; 6,555 cubic feet per second Mar 25, 2023: 12.75 ft, minor flooding; 13,795 cubic feet per second Apr 30, 2024: 8.85 ft, below flood stage; 5,495 cubic feet per second May 8, 2024: 10.73 ft, action stage; 9,086 cubic feet per second Nov 6, 2024: 11.72 ft, minor flooding; 11,277 cubic feet per second Apr 6, 2025: 16.45 ft, moderate flooding; 25,941 cubic feet per second Apr 21, 2025: 15.30 ft, moderate flooding; 22,541 cubic feet per second May 1, 2025: 10.38 ft, action stage; 8,879 cubic feet per second May 21, 2025: 12.33 ft, minor flooding; 13,626 cubic feet per second May 26, 2025: 13.31 ft, minor flooding; 16,366 cubic feet per second Jun 8, 2025: 15.16 ft, moderate flooding; 22,151 cubic feet per second Jul 19, 2025: 11.22 ft, minor flooding; 10,772 cubic feet per second Sep 25, 2025: 11.60 ft, minor flooding; 11,698 cubic feet per second Jun 9, 2026: 12.44 ft, minor flooding; 13,850 cubic feet per second Jun 15, 2026: 11.79 ft, minor flooding; 12,112 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 2026: 9.62 ft, action stage; 7,136 cubic feet per second Highest, 30.69 ft, Dec 28, 2015 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Crests at or above flood stage, by decade Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Illinois River (AR OK) near Tahlequah 1910s: 1 1920s: 8 1930s: 11 1940s: 29 29 1950s: 21 1960s: 17 1970s: 29 1980s: 19 1990s: 23 2000s: 19 2010s: 28 2020s: 23 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 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. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable. December 28, 2015: 30.69 ft here, major flooding Chewey OK · Dec 28, 2015 · 32.35 ft · Major Watts OK · Dec 28, 2015 · 28.64 ft · Major Gore OK · Dec 30, 2015 · 23.81 ft · Minor April 30, 2017: 29.29 ft here, major flooding Chewey OK · Apr 30, 2017 · 32.65 ft · Major · its highest Watts OK · Apr 30, 2017 · 30.12 ft · Major · its highest May 10, 1950: 27.94 ft here, major flooding Gore OK · May 11, 1950 · 30.20 ft · Minor · its highest 07 Other gauges in Cherokee County Cherokee County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Oklahoma
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge TALO2, 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.