Rivers in Wisconsin

Yellow River (WI) at Babcock

Wood County, WisconsinNWS BBCW3USGS 05402000Green Bay office

Below flood stage
2.71ftStage

Observed Wed, Sep 23, 8:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
12.00 ft
Record crest
18.43 ft2010

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood17.00 ft
Moderate flood15.50 ft
Minor flood12.00 ft
Action10.00 ft
  1. 18.43 ftHighway 80 is closed near Babcock. About a foot of water is covering the Highway 80 bridge over the river and most of the town of Babcock. Up to 6 inches of water covers a portion of the Ocean Spray Company.
  2. 17.00 ftHighway 80 is closed near the town of Babcock. Widespread wooded land along the river is flooded.
  3. 15.60 ftFloodwaters are near a couple of homes in the Babcock area near Highway 173.
  4. 14.00 ftWidespread flooding is occurring in wooded lowland and agricultural areas.
  5. 12.00 ftFlooding is confined mainly to agricultural and wooded lowland and marshes.
  6. 10.00 ftThere is minor flooding to lowland and agricultural land.
  7. 2.00 ftSubmerged rocks and structures may become more hazardous to boaters over more sections of the river.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding24%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued August 28, 2026.

Crest history

64 crests on NOAA’s list since 1944.

#DateStage
1September 24, 201018.43 ft
2April 2, 195217.38 ft
3March 31, 196717.05 ft
4March 27, 196316.03 ft
5April 18, 201915.95 ft
6August 29, 202115.92 ft
7April 5, 195615.85 ft
8March 18, 194515.78 ft
9September 22, 198615.77 ft
10February 22, 201715.64 ft
11June 19, 199315.63 ft
12March 17, 201615.53 ft
13May 17, 196815.53 ft
14April 17, 197315.46 ft
15March 24, 197915.41 ft
16March 28, 196115.41 ft
17March 7, 198315.40 ft
18June 23, 202415.26 ft
19April 15, 202615.15 ft
20March 22, 195315.06 ft
21September 22, 198014.91 ft
22March 14, 199014.84 ft
23October 26, 202314.61 ft
24April 12, 196514.61 ft
25April 29, 197514.57 ft

Most recent crests

  • April 15, 2026: 15.15 ft
  • March 23, 2026: 12.53 ft
  • April 21, 2025: 12.65 ft
  • March 31, 2025: 12.63 ft
  • June 23, 2024: 15.26 ft
  • May 27, 2024: 12.06 ft
  • October 26, 2023: 14.61 ft
  • April 2, 2023: 14.41 ft
  • March 24, 2022: 12.25 ft
  • August 29, 2021: 15.92 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the North Central River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.