Rivers in Iowa

Chariton River near Moulton

Appanoose County, IowaNWS MOLI4USGS 06904010Des Moines office

Below flood stage
18.58ftStage

Observed Wed, Sep 23, 11:45 AM CDT

Flood stage
36.00 ft
Record crest
45.00 ft1947

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood38.00 ft
Moderate flood37.00 ft
Minor flood36.00 ft
Action33.00 ft
  1. 44.70 ftWater approaches the top of the curb of the 543rd St bridge.
  2. 38.00 ftWater affects the east approach to the 543rd St bridge.
  3. 35.50 ftWater affects 285th Ave near Sedan Bottoms...or just east of the intersection of 285th Ave and 570th St.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

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

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 23, 2026.

Crest history

48 crests on NOAA’s list since 1947.

#DateStage
1June 1, 194745.00 ft
2August 25, 200737.94 ft
3July 21, 201037.12 ft
4July 16, 198236.83 ft
5April 18, 201336.56 ft
6June 25, 201536.22 ft
7July 5, 198136.17 ft
8July 9, 200835.81 ft
9June 27, 201135.64 ft
10May 29, 201935.55 ft
11June 4, 198035.17 ft
12May 27, 199635.12 ft
13May 3, 202435.10 ft
14May 24, 199534.60 ft
15December 14, 201534.42 ft
16May 30, 200434.35 ft
17April 11, 199234.34 ft
18March 15, 200134.27 ft
19July 8, 199334.18 ft
20April 2, 198334.16 ft
21May 17, 198634.16 ft
22July 15, 202134.06 ft
23August 7, 202533.92 ft
24October 5, 199833.85 ft
25December 27, 200833.71 ft

Most recent crests

  • August 7, 2025: 33.92 ft
  • May 3, 2024: 35.10 ft
  • March 2, 2023: 26.25 ft
  • November 11, 2021: 29.69 ft
  • July 15, 2021: 34.06 ft
  • May 29, 2020: 32.69 ft
  • May 29, 2019: 35.55 ft
  • September 8, 2018: 21.69 ft
  • April 5, 2017: 31.35 ft
  • December 14, 2015: 34.42 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Missouri Basin 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.