Rivers in Iowa

Cedar Creek near Bussey

Marion County, IowaNWS BSSI4USGS 05489000Des Moines office

Below flood stage
6.07ftStage

Observed Wed, Sep 23, 1:15 PM CDT

Flood stage
25.00 ft
Record crest
34.61 ft1982

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood32.00 ft
Moderate flood30.00 ft
Minor flood25.00 ft
Action16.00 ft
  1. 29.00 ftWater approaches the underside of the Iowa 156 bridge.
  2. 27.50 ftWater affects Iowa 156 east of bridge.
  3. 26.00 ftWater affects Iowa 156 in areas west and east of bridge.
  4. 25.00 ftFlooding approaches Iowa 156 in low areas and affects rural gravel roads near the creek.
  5. 23.00 ftWidespread agricultural flooding occurs.
  6. 18.00 ftWater affects primarily agricultural land. The town of Bussey is situated on locally high ground and is generally not affected by flooding.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding6%
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

79 crests on NOAA’s list since 1946.

#DateStage
1July 3, 198234.61 ft
2June 25, 201531.07 ft
3April 18, 201330.19 ft
4July 8, 200828.91 ft
5July 4, 198128.83 ft
6July 5, 199328.53 ft
7September 16, 199228.28 ft
8July 3, 195828.06 ft
9June 1, 194628.05 ft
10September 13, 196127.54 ft
11May 9, 195027.50 ft
12June 21, 195225.72 ft
13March 30, 196025.71 ft
14May 19, 197425.52 ft
15April 24, 197625.27 ft
16August 9, 201025.02 ft
17February 28, 194824.90 ft
18May 17, 198624.83 ft
19June 17, 199024.74 ft
20November 3, 196124.60 ft
21May 29, 201924.44 ft
22May 28, 197324.27 ft
23September 22, 196524.18 ft
24September 10, 201424.04 ft
25April 2, 198323.77 ft

Most recent crests

  • August 7, 2025: 16.55 ft
  • May 2, 2024: 16.52 ft
  • February 27, 2023: 11.48 ft
  • November 11, 2021: 17.01 ft
  • July 16, 2021: 21.13 ft
  • June 11, 2020: 21.81 ft
  • May 29, 2019: 24.44 ft
  • May 3, 2018: 10.64 ft
  • April 6, 2017: 18.81 ft
  • December 14, 2015: 23.55 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.

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.