Illustrated cartographic portrait of Lake Michigan at Chicago

Illinois River Levels

Current river levels and flood stages for 17 rivers gauged in Illinois.

Illinois gauge register

Reporting gauge groups and their current flood status

RiverRiverReportingReportingFlood statusFlood status
Buffalo Creek1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Deer Creek (IL, IN)2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
Des Plaines River9 gauges9 gaugesnormalnormal
Fox River (IL, WI)21 gauges21 gaugesnormalnormal
Green River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Illinois River12 gauges12 gaugesnormalnormal
Kankakee River6 gauges6 gaugesnormalnormal
Mill Creek2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
Mississippi River71 gauges71 gaugesnormalnormal
Nippersink Creek2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
Ohio River21 gauges21 gaugesnormalnormal
Rock River (IL, WI)15 gauges15 gaugesnormalnormal
Salt Creek2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
Salt Creek (IL, IN)7 gauges7 gaugesnormalnormal
Sugar Creek (IL, IN)5 gauges5 gaugesnormalnormal
Vermilion River3 gauges3 gaugesnormalnormal
Wabash River13 gauges13 gaugesnormalnormal

Scroll across the table for all readings →

Illinois river levels: common questions

Is any river flooding in Illinois right now?

No gauge in the state is above flood stage. No gauge is above action stage either.

Which rivers are gauged in Illinois?

17 in total, listed above. The most heavily instrumented is the Mississippi River, with 120 gauges. A river appears under every state it runs through, so a page reached from here may cover reaches outside Illinois as well.

What is the difference between flood stage and action stage?

Action stage is the level at which the Weather Service starts paying attention and agencies begin preparing. Flood stage is the level at which water starts affecting property or roads at that specific location. Both are set per gauge by the local Weather Service office, which is why two gauges on the same river can have very different numbers.