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Milwaukee River near Cedarburg

Highest listed crest 13.98 ftFlood stage 11.0 ft62 crests since 1982

The Milwaukee River near Cedarburg crested above flood stage 24 times among the 62 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1982 to 2026. The highest, 13.98 ft on June 13, 2008, was moderate flooding, 2.98 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Milwaukee River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
13.98 ft
June 13, 2008; 6,980 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
11.0 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
0
24 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
April 18, 2026
11.56 ft, minor flooding
Location
Ozaukee County
Near Cedarburg (2.7 mi), Grafton (2.8 mi), Mequon (6.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Milwaukee River near Cedarburg
Action stage10.010Apr 4, 2024The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)11.021Apr 18, 2026Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.03Mar 17, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

62 crests from 1982 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Milwaukee River near Cedarburg, 1982 to 2026 68101214ft Flood stage 11.0 ftMajor 14.0 ft Apr 3, 1982: 11.18 ft, minor flooding; 3,140 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1983: 9.92 ft, below flood stage; 3,040 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1984: 9.89 ft, below flood stage; 2,910 cubic feet per secondSep 11, 1986: 11.97 ft, minor flooding; 4,640 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 1986: 9.59 ft, below flood stage; 2,650 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1988: 12.27 ft, minor flooding; 2,600 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1989: 12.21 ft, minor flooding; 4,860 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1990: 11.14 ft, minor flooding; 3,910 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1991: 10.98 ft, action stageJun 15, 1991: 8.58 ft, below flood stage; 1,910 cubic feet per secondDec 19, 1991: 10.89 ft, action stageMar 9, 1992: 8.52 ft, below flood stage; 1,870 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1993: 12.04 ft, minor flooding; 4,700 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1994: 10.56 ft, action stageMar 22, 1994: 8.94 ft, below flood stage; 2,160 cubic feet per secondAug 29, 1995: 7.70 ft, below flood stage; 1,333 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1996: 11.17 ft, minor flooding; 3,932 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1996: 12.88 ft, minor flooding; 5,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1997: 11.99 ft, minor flooding; 4,667 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1997: 8.84 ft, below flood stage; 2,060 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1998: 10.43 ft, action stage; 3,310 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1999: 10.18 ft, action stage; 3,110 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 2000: 9.21 ft, below flood stage; 2,360 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 2001: 9.51 ft, below flood stage; 2,580 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2002: 8.40 ft, below flood stage; 1,790 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2003: 8.40 ft, below flood stage; 1,790 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2004: 13.11 ft, moderate flooding; 5,720 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 2005: 8.47 ft, below flood stage; 1,970 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2006: 9.27 ft, below flood stage; 2,410 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2007: 11.80 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 2008: 9.53 ft, below flood stageApr 11, 2008: 10.36 ft, action stageJun 13, 2008: 13.98 ft, moderate flooding; 6,980 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 2009: 9.96 ft, below flood stageMar 9, 2009: 11.95 ft, minor floodingApr 27, 2009: 10.25 ft, action stageMar 13, 2010: 9.69 ft, below flood stage; 2,930 cubic feet per secondJul 16, 2010: 9.07 ft, below flood stageJul 24, 2010: 8.71 ft, below flood stageFeb 20, 2011: 8.57 ft, below flood stageMar 23, 2011: 10.74 ft, action stage; 3,820 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2012: 7.98 ft, below flood stage; 1,690 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2013: 12.22 ft, minor floodingApr 12, 2013: 12.27 ft, minor flooding; 5,530 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2014: 11.40 ft, minor flooding; 4,310 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 2014: 9.95 ft, below flood stage; 3,070 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 2015: 10.94 ft, action stage; 3,870 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 2015: 8.34 ft, below flood stage; 1,869 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 2016: 9.38 ft, below flood stage; 2,610 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 2017: 12.24 ft, minor floodingMay 2, 2017: 9.18 ft, below flood stage; 2,390 cubic feet per secondAug 29, 2018: 12.20 ft, minor flooding; 4,990 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 2018: 11.40 ft, minor flooding; 4,221 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2019: 13.26 ft, moderate flooding; 5,860 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 2019: 12.98 ft, minor flooding; 6,000 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2020: 11.80 ft, minor flooding; 580 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 2021: 9.11 ft, below flood stage; 2,340 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2022: 9.19 ft, below flood stageMar 2, 2023: 9.06 ft, below flood stage; 2,300 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 2024: 10.17 ft, action stage; 3,200 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 2025: 12.91 ft, minor flooding; 5,929 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2026: 11.56 ft, minor flooding; 4,409 cubic feet per second Highest, 13.98 ft, Jun 13, 2008 1990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Milwaukee River near Cedarburg 1980s: 4 1990s: 5 2000s: 4 2010s: 8 8 2020s: 3 1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 62 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Milwaukee River near Cedarburg
1Jun 13, 200813.98+2.98Moderate6,980
2Mar 17, 201913.26+2.26Moderate5,860
3May 23, 200413.11+2.11Moderate5,720
4Oct 3, 201912.98+1.98Minor6,000
5Aug 12, 202512.91+1.91Minor5,929
6Jun 18, 199612.88+1.88Minor5,500
7Jan 31, 198812.27+1.27Minor2,600
8Apr 12, 201312.27+1.27Minor5,530
9Jan 23, 201712.24+1.24Minor—
10Mar 13, 201312.22+1.22Minor—
11Mar 27, 198912.21+1.21Minor4,860
12Aug 29, 201812.20+1.20Minor4,990
13Apr 21, 199312.04+1.04Minor4,700
14Feb 23, 199711.99+0.99Minor4,667
15Sep 11, 198611.97+0.97Minor4,640
16Mar 9, 200911.95+0.95Minor—
17Mar 13, 200711.80+0.80Minor—
18May 19, 202011.80+0.80Minor580
19Apr 18, 202611.56+0.56Minor4,409
20Apr 15, 201411.40+0.40Minor4,310
21Sep 3, 201811.40+0.40Minor4,221
22Apr 3, 198211.18+0.18Minor3,140
23Jun 8, 199611.17+0.17Minor3,932
24Mar 16, 199011.14+0.14Minor3,910
25Mar 4, 199110.98−0.02Action—
26Apr 10, 201510.94−0.06Action3,870
27Dec 19, 199110.89−0.11Action—
28Mar 23, 201110.74−0.26Action3,820
29Mar 13, 199410.56−0.44Action—
30Apr 2, 199810.43−0.57Action3,310
31Apr 11, 200810.36−0.64Action—
32Apr 27, 200910.25−0.75Action—
33Jul 22, 199910.18−0.82Action3,110
34Apr 4, 202410.17−0.83Action3,200
35Feb 13, 20099.96−1.04Below flood stage—
36Jun 21, 20149.95−1.05Below flood stage3,070
37Apr 10, 19839.92−1.08Below flood stage3,040
38Jun 19, 19849.89−1.11Below flood stage2,910
39Mar 13, 20109.69−1.31Below flood stage2,930
40Oct 4, 19869.59−1.41Below flood stage2,650
41Mar 15, 20089.53−1.47Below flood stage—
42Apr 12, 20019.51−1.49Below flood stage2,580
43Apr 1, 20169.38−1.62Below flood stage2,610
44Mar 13, 20069.27−1.73Below flood stage2,410
45May 20, 20009.21−1.79Below flood stage2,360
46Jun 9, 20229.19−1.81Below flood stage—
47May 2, 20179.18−1.82Below flood stage2,390
48Aug 8, 20219.11−1.89Below flood stage2,340
49Jul 16, 20109.07−1.93Below flood stage—
50Mar 2, 20239.06−1.94Below flood stage2,300

The worst floods along the Milwaukee River

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

June 13, 2008: 13.98 ft here, moderate flooding

March 17, 2019: 13.26 ft here, moderate flooding

  • WaubekaWI · Mar 16, 2019 · 13.77 ft · Major · its highest
  • SaukvilleWI · Mar 17, 2019 · 15.59 ft · Moderate

October 3, 2019: 12.98 ft here, minor flooding

  • SaukvilleWI · Oct 2, 2019 · 15.22 ft · Moderate
  • WaubekaWI · Oct 2, 2019 · 9.61 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Milwaukee River

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

Flood gauges on the Milwaukee River
Milwaukee-Estabrook ParkWI7.011.20 ft, Aug 10, 20254
SaukvilleWI13.516.75 ft, Jun 13, 20081
WaubekaWI9.513.77 ft, Mar 16, 20191
Cedarburg this gaugeWI11.013.98 ft, Jun 13, 20080

Other gauges in Ozaukee County

Flood gauges in Ozaukee County
Cedarburg10.012.25 ft, Mar 30, 19601
Saukville13.516.75 ft, Jun 13, 20081
Waubeka9.513.77 ft, Mar 16, 20191

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CEDW3, 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.