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Black Earth Creek at Black Earth

Highest listed crest 9.81 ftFlood stage 5.5 ft86 crests since 1954

The Black Earth Creek at Black Earth crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 86 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1954 to 2024. The highest, 9.81 ft on August 21, 2018, was major flooding, 4.31 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Black Earth Creek crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
9.81 ft
August 21, 2018; 2,930 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
5.5 ft
Major flooding from 8.0 ft
Crests at major
1
64th of 143 gauges in Wisconsin
Most recent flood crest
June 23, 2024
5.90 ft, minor flooding
Location
Dane County
Near Middleton (11.5 mi), Verona (13.9 mi), Waunakee (14.8 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Black Earth Creek at Black Earth
Action stage5.013Jun 26, 2013The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)5.516Jun 23, 2024Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage7.01Aug 2, 2001Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage8.01Aug 21, 2018Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

86 crests from 1954 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Black Earth Creek at Black Earth, 1954 to 2024 246810ft Flood stage 5.5 ftMajor 8.0 ft Jul 3, 1954: 6.58 ft, minor flooding; 1,750 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1955: 5.28 ft, action stage; 654 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1956: 4.33 ft, below flood stage; 408 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1957: 5.96 ft, minor flooding; 1,030 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1958: 3.60 ft, below flood stage; 266 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1959: 5.83 ft, minor flooding; 1,120 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1960: 5.80 ft, minor flooding; 1,020 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1961: 5.22 ft, action stage; 693 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1962: 3.32 ft, below flood stage; 216 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1963: 4.50 ft, below flood stage; 454 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1964: 2.37 ft, below flood stage; 64 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1965: 5.05 ft, action stage; 623 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1966: 5.04 ft, action stage; 619 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 1967: 5.07 ft, action stage; 631 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1968: 3.16 ft, below flood stage; 148 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 1969: 4.61 ft, below flood stage; 457 cubic feet per secondSep 24, 1970: 2.97 ft, below flood stage; 141 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1971: 3.24 ft, below flood stage; 196 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 1972: 4.39 ft, below flood stage; 451 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1973: 4.87 ft, below flood stage; 577 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1974: 5.08 ft, action stage; 585 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1975: 4.64 ft, below flood stage; 514 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1976: 5.47 ft, action stage; 834 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1977: 4.03 ft, below flood stage; 367 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1978: 5.13 ft, action stage; 681 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1979: 3.49 ft, below flood stage; 260 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 1980: 4.35 ft, below flood stage; 441 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1981: 4.12 ft, below flood stage; 396 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1982: 4.05 ft, below flood stage; 380 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1982: 3.15 ft, below flood stage; 194 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1984: 4.98 ft, below flood stage; 342 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1985: 5.65 ft, minor flooding; 710 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1986: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 236 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 1986: 2.86 ft, below flood stage; 123 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1988: 2.63 ft, below flood stage; 140 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1989: 4.79 ft, below flood stage; 433 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1990: 4.31 ft, below flood stage; 401 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1991: 3.65 ft, below flood stage; 312 cubic feet per secondOct 25, 1991: 3.65 ft, below flood stage; 243 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1993: 6.13 ft, minor flooding; 1,320 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1994: 5.04 ft, action stage; 686 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1995: 3.25 ft, below flood stage; 238 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1996: 4.51 ft, below flood stage; 503 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1997: 4.16 ft, below flood stage; 412 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1998: 4.98 ft, below flood stage; 661 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1999: 4.56 ft, below flood stage; 519 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2000: 5.34 ft, action stage; 808 cubic feet per secondAug 2, 2001: 7.08 ft, moderate flooding; 1,720 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2002: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 247 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2003: 2.88 ft, below flood stage; 179 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2004: 5.72 ft, minor flooding; 960 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2005: 3.94 ft, below flood stage; 378 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2005: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 292 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2006: 2.58 ft, below flood stage; 118 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 2007: 5.26 ft, action stage; 774 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 2008: 4.58 ft, below flood stage; 448 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2008: 6.02 ft, minor flooding; 1,020 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2008: 5.40 ft, action stage; 667 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2008: 5.80 ft, minor flooding; 769 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 2009: 3.56 ft, below flood stage; 233 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 2009: 4.20 ft, below flood stage; 346 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 2009: 3.60 ft, below flood stage; 254 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2010: 3.03 ft, below flood stage; 189 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2010: 3.58 ft, below flood stage; 239 cubic feet per secondJul 24, 2010: 4.38 ft, below flood stage; 367 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2011: 3.21 ft, below flood stage; 188 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 2011: 3.25 ft, below flood stage; 194 cubic feet per secondNov 9, 2011: 3.21 ft, below flood stage; 145 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2013: 3.48 ft, below flood stageJun 26, 2013: 5.26 ft, action stage; 700 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2014: 3.59 ft, below flood stage; 255 cubic feet per secondSep 4, 2014: 4.46 ft, below flood stage; 291 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2015: 3.58 ft, below flood stage; 260 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2015: 4.66 ft, below flood stage; 475 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2016: 5.86 ft, minor flooding; 663 cubic feet per secondOct 26, 2016: 4.21 ft, below flood stage; 269 cubic feet per secondJul 20, 2017: 5.97 ft, minor flooding; 542 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 2018: 6.21 ft, minor flooding; 1,190 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 2018: 9.81 ft, major flooding; 2,930 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 2018: 5.51 ft, minor flooding; 770 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 2019: 6.75 ft, minor flooding; 1,030 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 2019: 6.34 ft, minor flooding; 1,060 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2020: 4.83 ft, below flood stage; 482 cubic feet per secondOct 23, 2020: 4.46 ft, below flood stage; 423 cubic feet per secondSep 12, 2022: 3.41 ft, below flood stage; 168 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2024: 5.90 ft, minor flooding; 775 cubic feet per second Highest, 9.81 ft, Aug 21, 2018 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Black Earth Creek at Black Earth 1950s: 3 1960s: 1 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 4 2010s: 7 7 2020s: 1 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 86 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Black Earth Creek at Black Earth
1Aug 21, 20189.81+4.31Major2,930
2Aug 2, 20017.08+1.58Moderate1,720
3Mar 14, 20196.75+1.25Minor1,030
4Jul 3, 19546.58+1.08Minor1,750
5Oct 2, 20196.34+0.84Minor1,060
6Feb 21, 20186.21+0.71Minor1,190
7Jul 6, 19936.13+0.63Minor1,320
8Jun 8, 20086.02+0.52Minor1,020
9Jul 20, 20175.97+0.47Minor542
10Jun 11, 19575.96+0.46Minor1,030
11Jun 23, 20245.90+0.40Minor775
12Jun 15, 20165.86+0.36Minor663
13Apr 1, 19595.83+0.33Minor1,120
14Jul 3, 19605.80+0.30Minor1,020
15Jul 11, 20085.80+0.30Minor769
16May 22, 20045.72+0.22Minor960
17Jul 25, 19855.65+0.15Minor710
18Oct 2, 20185.51+0.01Minor770
19Mar 12, 19765.47−0.03Action834
20Jun 13, 20085.40−0.10Action667
21Jun 2, 20005.34−0.16Action808
22Feb 20, 19555.28−0.22Action654
23Aug 19, 20075.26−0.24Action774
24Jun 26, 20135.26−0.24Action700
25Mar 25, 19615.22−0.28Action693
26Jul 1, 19785.13−0.37Action681
27Jan 27, 19745.08−0.42Action585
28Jan 25, 19675.07−0.43Action631
29Mar 2, 19655.05−0.45Action623
30Feb 9, 19665.04−0.46Action619
31Feb 20, 19945.04−0.46Action686
32Jun 10, 19844.98−0.52Below flood stage342
33Mar 31, 19984.98−0.52Below flood stage661
34Mar 7, 19734.87−0.63Below flood stage577
35Jul 10, 20204.83−0.67Below flood stage482
36Mar 12, 19894.79−0.71Below flood stage433
37May 27, 20154.66−0.84Below flood stage475
38Mar 21, 19754.64−0.86Below flood stage514
39Jun 27, 19694.61−0.89Below flood stage457
40Apr 11, 20084.58−0.92Below flood stage448
41Apr 23, 19994.56−0.94Below flood stage519
42Jun 17, 19964.51−0.99Below flood stage503
43Mar 17, 19634.50−1.00Below flood stage454
44Sep 4, 20144.46−1.04Below flood stage291
45Oct 23, 20204.46−1.04Below flood stage423
46Mar 17, 19724.39−1.11Below flood stage451
47Jul 24, 20104.38−1.12Below flood stage367
48Sep 22, 19804.35−1.15Below flood stage441
49May 13, 19564.33−1.17Below flood stage408
50Mar 9, 19904.31−1.19Below flood stage401

The worst floods along the Black Earth Creek

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

August 21, 2018: 9.81 ft here, major flooding

  • MazomanieWI · Aug 21, 2018 · 16.60 ft · Major · its highest

March 14, 2019: 6.75 ft here, minor flooding

  • MazomanieWI · Mar 15, 2019 · 11.66 ft · Minor

October 2, 2019: 6.34 ft here, minor flooding

  • MazomanieWI · Oct 2, 2019 · 10.95 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Black Earth Creek

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Black Earth Creek
Black Earth this gaugeWI5.59.81 ft, Aug 21, 20181
MazomanieWI10.016.60 ft, Aug 21, 20181

Other gauges in Dane County

Flood gauges in Dane County
Mazomanie10.016.60 ft, Aug 21, 20181

Dane County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Wisconsin

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BLEW3, 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.