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Willamette River at Salem

Highest listed crest 47.00 ftFlood stage 28.0 ft16 crests since 1861

The Willamette River at Salem crested at major flood stage 7 times among the 16 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1861 to 2019. The highest, 47.00 ft on December 4, 1861, was major flooding, 19.00 feet above flood stage. 4 other gauges on the Willamette River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
47.00 ft
December 4, 1861; 500,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
28.0 ft
Major flooding from 32.0 ft
Crests at major
7
7th of 100 gauges in Oregon
Most recent flood crest
January 21, 2012
29.42 ft, minor flooding
Location
Marion County
Near Salem (1.7 mi), Keizer (4.2 mi), Independence (9.7 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Willamette River at Salem
Action stage21.23Apr 12, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)28.03Jan 21, 2012Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage30.03Jan 22, 1972Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage32.07Feb 8, 1996Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

16 crests from 1861 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Willamette River at Salem, 1861 to 2019 20304050ft Flood stage 28.0 ftMajor 32.0 ft Dec 4, 1861: 47.00 ft, major flooding; 500,000 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1880: 43.30 ft, major flooding; 428,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1890: 45.10 ft, major flooding; 448,000 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1891: 47.00 ft, major floodingJan 15, 1901: 31.50 ft, moderate flooding; 329,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 1907: 31.30 ft, moderate flooding; 325,000 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1964: 37.78 ft, major flooding; 308,000 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1972: 30.23 ft, moderate flooding; 180,000 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1974: 32.32 ft, major flooding; 206,000 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1996: 29.28 ft, minor flooding; 170,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1996: 35.09 ft, major flooding; 244,000 cubic feet per secondDec 30, 1998: 28.75 ft, minor flooding; 162,000 cubic feet per secondNov 27, 1999: 22.96 ft, action stage; 104,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 2003: 22.01 ft, action stage; 97,000 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 2012: 29.42 ft, minor flooding; 171,000 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 2019: 27.30 ft, action stage; 147,000 cubic feet per second Highest, 47.00 ft, Dec 4, 1861 18801900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Willamette River at Salem 1860s: 1 1870s: 0 1880s: 1 1890s: 2 1900s: 2 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 1 1970s: 2 1980s: 0 1990s: 3 3 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s
  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. 9 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 30.50 ft on Nov 25, 1909; 30.30 ft on Jan 8, 1923; 24.70 ft on Feb 23, 1927; 30.60 ft on Jan 2, 1943; 28.35 ft on Dec 30, 1945; 27.47 ft on Jan 9, 1948; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Willamette River at Salem
1Dec 4, 186147.00+19.00Major500,000
2Dec 4, 189147.00+19.00Major—
3Feb 5, 189045.10+17.10Major448,000
4Jan 16, 188043.30+15.30Major428,000
5Dec 23, 196437.78+9.78Major308,000
6Feb 8, 199635.09+7.09Major244,000
7Jan 17, 197432.32+4.32Major206,000
8Jan 15, 190131.50+3.50Moderate329,000
9Feb 6, 190731.30+3.30Moderate325,000
10Jan 22, 197230.23+2.23Moderate180,000
11Jan 21, 201229.42+1.42Minor171,000
12Jan 2, 199629.28+1.28Minor170,000
13Dec 30, 199828.75+0.75Minor162,000
14Apr 12, 201927.30−0.70Action147,000
15Nov 27, 199922.96−5.04Action104,000
16Feb 2, 200322.01−5.99Action97,000

The worst floods along the Willamette River

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

December 4, 1861: 47.00 ft here, major flooding

  • Falls at Oregon CityOR · Dec 5, 1861 · 48.00 ft · Major
  • CorvallisOR · Dec 1, 1861 · 42.40 ft · Major · its highest
  • AlbanyOR · Dec 4, 1861 · 41.00 ft · Major · its highest
  • HarrisburgOR · Dec 4, 1861 · 23.00 ft · Major · its highest

February 5, 1890: 45.10 ft here, major flooding

December 23, 1964: 37.78 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Willamette River

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

Flood gauges on the Willamette River
EugeneOR23.024.80 ft, Feb 10, 19610
HarrisburgOR14.023.00 ft, Dec 4, 18616
CorvallisOR30.042.40 ft, Dec 1, 18616
AlbanyOR25.041.00 ft, Dec 4, 18612
Salem this gaugeOR28.047.00 ft, Dec 4, 18617
Falls at Oregon CityOR64.071.30 ft, Feb 5, 199010
Falls at Oregon CityOR27.050.50 ft, Feb 5, 18906
PortlandOR18.033.00 ft, Jun 7, 18947

Other gauges in Marion County

Flood gauges in Marion County
Commercial Street in Salem9.513.60 ft, Jan 19, 20121
Aumsville10.813.00 ft, Dec 19, 20250
Monitor14.016.34 ft, Dec 19, 20250
North Salem High School at Salem10.312.61 ft, Jan 19, 20121
Spenner Road near Sublimity5.57.14 ft, Dec 19, 20250
Turner10.812.13 ft, Dec 19, 20251
Turner Road near Salem12.314.10 ft, Jan 19, 20121
Mehama11.017.50 ft, Nov 20, 19216
Salem Hospital11.213.10 ft, Jan 19, 20121
Aurora22.030.72 ft, Feb 8, 19965

Marion County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Oregon

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SLMO3, 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.