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Otter Creek at Middlebury

Highest listed crest 13.30 ftFlood stage 6.5 ft94 crests since 1913

The Otter Creek at Middlebury crested above flood stage 31 times among the 94 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1913 to 2023. The highest, 13.30 ft on November 4, 1927, was minor flooding, 6.80 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
13.30 ft
November 4, 1927; 13,600 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
6.5 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
31 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
July 17, 2023
7.48 ft, minor flooding
Location
Addison County
Vermont

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Otter Creek at Middlebury
Action stage6.013Apr 28, 2007The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)6.531Jul 17, 2023Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat

Every listed crest

94 crests from 1913 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Otter Creek at Middlebury, 1913 to 2023 051015ft Flood stage 6.5 ft Mar 30, 1913: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 9,950 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1914: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 5,540 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1915: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 3,410 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1916: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 4,850 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1917: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 3,680 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1918: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 3,500 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1919: 0.00 ft, below flood stage; 3,050 cubic feet per secondNov 4, 1927: 13.30 ft, minor flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 1929: 7.22 ft, minor flooding; 4,700 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1930: 5.66 ft, below flood stage; 3,080 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1931: 6.02 ft, action stage; 3,410 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1932: 6.80 ft, minor flooding; 4,210 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1933: 8.73 ft, minor flooding; 6,450 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 1934: 5.81 ft, below flood stage; 4,300 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1935: 5.08 ft, below flood stage; 3,520 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1936: 10.30 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1937: 5.77 ft, below flood stage; 4,370 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1938: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 6,630 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1939: 6.98 ft, minor flooding; 5,860 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1940: 6.91 ft, minor flooding; 5,730 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1940: 4.55 ft, below flood stage; 2,840 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1942: 4.74 ft, below flood stage; 3,020 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1943: 4.91 ft, below flood stage; 3,290 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 1944: 5.41 ft, below flood stage; 3,830 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1945: 6.04 ft, action stage; 4,660 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1946: 6.12 ft, action stage; 4,750 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1947: 6.13 ft, action stage; 4,770 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1948: 7.59 ft, minor flooding; 6,690 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1949: 7.26 ft, minor flooding; 6,220 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1950: 5.56 ft, below flood stage; 4,080 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1951: 5.99 ft, below flood stage; 4,550 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 1952: 6.18 ft, action stage; 4,830 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1953: 6.32 ft, action stage; 4,950 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1954: 5.35 ft, below flood stage; 3,750 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1955: 5.62 ft, below flood stage; 4,150 cubic feet per secondMay 5, 1956: 6.18 ft, action stage; 4,830 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1957: 3.95 ft, below flood stage; 2,220 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1958: 8.17 ft, minor flooding; 6,880 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1959: 6.39 ft, action stage; 4,990 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 1960: 8.62 ft, minor flooding; 8,200 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1961: 4.44 ft, below flood stage; 2,550 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1962: 6.16 ft, action stage; 4,800 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1963: 6.25 ft, action stage; 4,860 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1964: 5.31 ft, below flood stage; 3,780 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1965: 3.51 ft, below flood stage; 1,780 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1966: 4.42 ft, below flood stage; 2,620 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1967: 5.44 ft, below flood stage; 3,460 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1968: 7.13 ft, minor flooding; 5,650 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1969: 7.52 ft, minor flooding; 6,390 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1970: 6.04 ft, action stage; 4,470 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1971: 5.23 ft, below flood stage; 3,460 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1972: 6.67 ft, minor flooding; 5,290 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1973: 5.29 ft, below flood stage; 3,530 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1974: 5.80 ft, below flood stage; 4,160 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1975: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 3,100 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1976: 6.54 ft, minor flooding; 5,120 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1977: 8.01 ft, minor flooding; 7,110 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1978: 5.31 ft, below flood stage; 3,550 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1979: 6.50 ft, minor flooding; 5,070 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1980: 4.74 ft, below flood stage; 2,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1981: 6.50 ft, minor flooding; 5,070 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1982: 5.89 ft, below flood stage; 4,100 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1983: 7.52 ft, minor flooding; 6,480 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1984: 6.78 ft, minor flooding; 5,430 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1985: 4.53 ft, below flood stage; 2,680 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1986: 6.82 ft, minor flooding; 5,480 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1987: 8.15 ft, minor flooding; 7,320 cubic feet per secondOct 13, 1987: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 2,920 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1989: 4.94 ft, below flood stage; 2,940 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 1990: 4.73 ft, below flood stage; 2,710 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1990: 4.86 ft, below flood stageApr 24, 1992: 4.55 ft, below flood stage; 2,510 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1993: 5.92 ft, below flood stage; 4,080 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1994: 7.60 ft, minor flooding; 6,570 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1995: 4.35 ft, below flood stage; 2,490 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1996: 6.94 ft, minor flooding; 5,640 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 1996: 4.97 ft, below flood stage; 3,360 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1998: 7.04 ft, minor flooding; 5,780 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1999: 4.75 ft, below flood stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2000: 5.14 ft, below flood stage; 3,640 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2001: 7.04 ft, minor flooding; 5,770 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 2002: 5.13 ft, below flood stage; 3,540 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 2003: 5.57 ft, below flood stage; 4,040 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 2003: 5.36 ft, below flood stage; 3,800 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 2005: 6.24 ft, action stage; 4,820 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 2006: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 3,920 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 2007: 6.03 ft, action stage; 4,580 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2008: 5.47 ft, below flood stage; 3,920 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2009: 4.88 ft, below flood stage; 3,250 cubic feet per secondAug 29, 2011: 5.38 ft, below flood stage; 3,826 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 2011: 7.34 ft, minor flooding; 6,176 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2014: 6.83 ft, minor flooding; 5,516 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 2019: 7.17 ft, minor flooding; 5,947 cubic feet per secondJul 17, 2023: 7.48 ft, minor flooding; 6,369 cubic feet per second Highest, 13.30 ft, Nov 4, 1927 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Otter Creek at Middlebury 1910s: 0 1920s: 2 1930s: 5 5 1940s: 3 1950s: 1 1960s: 3 1970s: 4 1980s: 5 1990s: 3 2000s: 1 2010s: 3 2020s: 1 1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 94 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Otter Creek at Middlebury
1Nov 4, 192713.30+6.80Minor13,600
2Mar 21, 193610.30+3.80Minor11,000
3Apr 21, 19338.73+2.23Minor6,450
4Apr 7, 19608.62+2.12Minor8,200
5Apr 25, 19588.17+1.67Minor6,880
6Apr 9, 19878.15+1.65Minor7,320
7May 17, 19778.01+1.51Minor7,110
8Apr 19, 19947.60+1.10Minor6,570
9Mar 25, 19487.59+1.09Minor6,690
10Sep 25, 19387.55+1.05Minor6,630
11Apr 23, 19697.52+1.02Minor6,390
12May 6, 19837.52+1.02Minor6,480
13Jul 17, 20237.48+0.98Minor6,369
14Sep 2, 20117.34+0.84Minor6,176
15Jun 4, 19497.26+0.76Minor6,220
16May 3, 19297.22+0.72Minor4,700
17Apr 21, 20197.17+0.67Minor5,947
18Mar 27, 19687.13+0.63Minor5,650
19Apr 5, 19987.04+0.54Minor5,780
20Apr 27, 20017.04+0.54Minor5,770
21Apr 26, 19396.98+0.48Minor5,860
22Apr 27, 19966.94+0.44Minor5,640
23May 7, 19406.91+0.41Minor5,730
24Apr 18, 20146.83+0.33Minor5,516
25Mar 24, 19866.82+0.32Minor5,480
26Apr 16, 19326.80+0.30Minor4,210
27May 4, 19846.78+0.28Minor5,430
28May 8, 19726.67+0.17Minor5,290
29Apr 5, 19766.54+0.04Minor5,120
30Mar 10, 19796.500.00Minor5,070
31Feb 27, 19816.500.00Minor5,070
32Apr 9, 19596.39−0.11Action4,990
33Apr 1, 19536.32−0.18Action4,950
34Apr 4, 19636.25−0.25Action4,860
35Apr 8, 20056.24−0.26Action4,820
36Apr 11, 19526.18−0.32Action4,830
37May 5, 19566.18−0.32Action4,830
38Apr 13, 19626.16−0.34Action4,800
39Jun 8, 19476.13−0.37Action4,770
40Mar 13, 19466.12−0.38Action4,750
41Mar 25, 19456.04−0.46Action4,660
42Apr 25, 19706.04−0.46Action4,470
43Apr 28, 20076.03−0.47Action4,580
44Apr 18, 19316.02−0.48Action3,410
45Apr 16, 19515.99−0.51Below flood stage4,550
46Apr 23, 19935.92−0.58Below flood stage4,080
47Apr 25, 19825.89−0.61Below flood stage4,100
48Apr 18, 19345.81−0.69Below flood stage4,300
49Jan 2, 19745.80−0.70Below flood stage4,160
50May 21, 19375.77−0.73Below flood stage4,370

The worst floods along the Otter Creek

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

March 21, 1936: 10.30 ft here, minor flooding

April 21, 1933: 8.73 ft here, minor flooding

April 7, 1960: 8.62 ft here, minor flooding

Gauges on the Otter Creek

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

Flood gauges on the Otter Creek
Center RutlandVT8.017.21 ft, Aug 29, 20118
Middlebury this gaugeVT6.513.30 ft, Nov 4, 19270

Addison County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Vermont

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MDBV1, 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.