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Oconto River near Oconto

Highest listed crest 14.51 ftFlood stage 9.0 ft23 crests since 1986

The Oconto River near Oconto crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 23 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1986 to 2026. The highest, 14.51 ft on April 15, 1986, was major flooding, 5.51 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
14.51 ft
April 15, 1986
Flood stage
9.0 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
1
64th of 143 gauges in Wisconsin
Most recent flood crest
April 14, 2026
11.51 ft, minor flooding
Location
Oconto County
Wisconsin

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Oconto River near Oconto
Action stage7.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.021Apr 14, 2026Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.01Mar 29, 2004Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.01Apr 15, 1986Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

23 crests from 1986 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Oconto River near Oconto, 1986 to 2026 810121416ft Flood stage 9.0 ftMajor 14.0 ft Apr 15, 1986: 14.51 ft, major floodingMar 28, 1989: 10.91 ft, minor floodingMar 13, 1990: 11.24 ft, minor flooding; 5,300 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1990: 9.65 ft, minor flooding; 5,060 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1998: 10.47 ft, minor floodingApr 17, 2003: 10.22 ft, minor floodingMar 29, 2004: 13.24 ft, moderate flooding; 8,320 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 2005: 9.09 ft, minor floodingMar 14, 2007: 9.08 ft, minor flooding; 2,870 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 2008: 9.21 ft, minor flooding; 3,950 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 2010: 9.45 ft, minor flooding; 4,180 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2011: 9.33 ft, minor flooding; 4,130 cubic feet per secondApr 11, 2014: 9.07 ft, minor flooding; 3,633 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 2015: 9.82 ft, minor flooding; 4,304 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2016: 9.75 ft, minor flooding; 4,220 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2016: 9.27 ft, minor flooding; 3,737 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2017: 10.03 ft, minor flooding; 4,739 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 2019: 11.89 ft, minor flooding; 7,000 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2020: 10.73 ft, minor flooding; 5,740 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2020: 9.55 ft, minor flooding; 4,520 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 2022: 10.19 ft, minor flooding; 5,030 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2023: 10.51 ft, minor floodingApr 14, 2026: 11.51 ft, minor flooding; 6,326 cubic feet per second Highest, 14.51 ft, Apr 15, 1986 1990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Oconto River near Oconto 1980s: 2 1990s: 3 2000s: 5 2010s: 8 8 2020s: 5 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.
  3. 3 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 14.53 ft on Apr 21, 1952; 7.42 ft on Mar 13, 2021; 10.26 ft on Apr 5, 2023.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Oconto River near Oconto
1Apr 15, 198614.51+5.51Major—
2Mar 29, 200413.24+4.24Moderate8,320
3Apr 19, 201911.89+2.89Minor7,000
4Apr 14, 202611.51+2.51Minor6,326
5Mar 13, 199011.24+2.24Minor5,300
6Mar 28, 198910.91+1.91Minor—
7Mar 29, 202010.73+1.73Minor5,740
8May 7, 202310.51+1.51Minor—
9Mar 31, 199810.47+1.47Minor—
10Apr 17, 200310.22+1.22Minor—
11May 14, 202210.19+1.19Minor5,030
12Jun 15, 201710.03+1.03Minor4,739
13Dec 15, 20159.82+0.82Minor4,304
14Mar 17, 20169.75+0.75Minor4,220
15Jun 23, 19909.65+0.65Minor5,060
16May 19, 20209.55+0.55Minor4,520
17Jul 8, 20109.45+0.45Minor4,180
18Apr 27, 20119.33+0.33Minor4,130
19Jun 27, 20169.27+0.27Minor3,737
20Apr 11, 20089.21+0.21Minor3,950
21Mar 31, 20059.09+0.09Minor—
22Mar 14, 20079.08+0.08Minor2,870
23Apr 11, 20149.07+0.07Minor3,633

The worst floods along the Oconto River

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

April 19, 2019: 11.89 ft here, minor flooding

  • GillettWI · Apr 19, 2019 · 7.54 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Oconto River

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

Flood gauges on the Oconto River
GillettWI7.511.20 ft, Apr 10, 19220
Oconto this gaugeWI9.014.51 ft, Apr 15, 19861

Other gauges in Oconto County

Flood gauges in Oconto County
Gillett7.511.20 ft, Apr 10, 19220

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge OCTW3, 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.