Rivers in Indiana

Big Blue River (IN) at Carthage

Rush County, IndianaNWS CARI3USGS 03361000Indianapolis office

Below flood stage
0.79ftStage

Observed Thu, Sep 24, 7:30 PM EDT

Flood stage
7.00 ft
Record crest
14.62 ft1963

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood13.00 ft
Moderate flood10.00 ft
Minor flood7.00 ft
Action5.00 ft
  1. 14.00 ftNear record to record flood along the Big Blue River. Many county and some city streets impassable. Eastern and southern parts of Carthage, extreme southern sections of Knightstown and extreme eastern Raysville flood extensively. Many evacuations occur in Knightstown, Carthage and rural northwest Rush county.
  2. 13.00 ftA serious flood in progress. Many local roads are impassable. Some evacuations occur in southern parts of Carthage, extreme southern sections of Knightstown, eastern Raysville and rural areas of northwest Rush County. Used auto parts yard in Carthage is extensively flooded.
  3. 11.00 ftExtensive flooding is in progress. Many local roads flood and are impassable to most vehicles. A few evacuations are necessary in southern parts of Carthage, extreme southern sections of Knightstown, eastern Raysville and a few rural areas of northwest Rush County. Used auto parts yard in Carthage is flooded.
  4. 8.50 ftA frequent high water level. This occurs about two or three times a year. Local roads near the Big Blue River flood. Water surrounds a few homes in Carthage, enters dog houses in southern Carthage and affects used auto parts yard in Carthage. Water is in yards in the southern outskirts of Knightstown and extreme eastern Raysville.
  5. 7.00 ftLowland flooding begins.
  6. 5.00 ftCR800N begins to flood at its lowest point where it crosses the Big Blue River in northwest Rush County.

Crest history

180 crests on NOAA’s list since 1949.

#DateStage
1March 4, 196314.62 ft
2January 21, 195913.28 ft
3November 15, 199312.91 ft
4June 14, 195812.42 ft
5December 30, 199012.31 ft
6August 13, 202612.30 ft
7April 25, 196112.08 ft
8December 22, 201311.96 ft
9November 16, 195511.52 ft
10January 6, 200511.22 ft
11April 5, 202511.21 ft
12February 21, 195111.20 ft
13January 27, 195211.02 ft
14June 27, 197310.99 ft
15August 1, 195810.98 ft
16June 4, 200810.91 ft
17October 4, 198610.76 ft
18June 12, 200410.75 ft
19April 22, 196410.65 ft
20January 5, 194910.60 ft
21January 9, 200810.60 ft
22May 28, 195610.59 ft
23June 11, 195810.52 ft
24February 28, 201110.45 ft
25June 22, 201010.43 ft

Most recent crests

  • August 13, 2026: 12.30 ft
  • April 5, 2025: 11.21 ft
  • March 25, 2023: 8.62 ft
  • February 28, 2021: 5.82 ft
  • January 11, 2020: 8.36 ft
  • June 16, 2019: 10.30 ft
  • April 26, 2019: 7.43 ft
  • March 10, 2019: 7.01 ft
  • February 8, 2019: 9.53 ft
  • January 24, 2019: 7.64 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Ohio River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. Stage may be affected by ice.

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.