Rivers in Iowa

South Skunk River near Oskaloosa

Mahaska County, IowaNWS OOAI4USGS 05471500Des Moines office

Below flood stage
16.76ftStage

Observed Mon, Sep 28, 3:30 PM CDT

Flood stage
24.50 ft
Record crest
26.40 ft2010

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood30.00 ft
Moderate flood28.50 ft
Minor flood24.50 ft
Action18.00 ft
  1. 30.00 ftWater affects US 63.
  2. 25.00 ftWater affects the Oskaloosa water plant levee with water into maintenance bay floor.
  3. 24.50 ftWater threatens Iowa 92 east of Oskaloosa.
  4. 23.20 ftWater affects Hwy T14 north of Pella...just south of the Marion-Jasper County line.
  5. 23.00 ftWater affects secondary roads near US 63 and Iowa 92.
  6. 21.00 ftWidespread flooding of agricultural and lowland areas occurs.
  7. 17.00 ftWater affects agricultural land.
  8. 15.00 ftWater affects the park on the south bank near the US 63 bridge.

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 25, 2026.

Crest history

85 crests on NOAA’s list since 1944.

#DateStage
1August 16, 201026.40 ft
2May 1, 194425.80 ft
3July 15, 199324.78 ft
4June 12, 200824.61 ft
5July 7, 201423.34 ft
6July 6, 201423.33 ft
7May 24, 202423.29 ft
8June 2, 201323.28 ft
9June 23, 199023.05 ft
10June 24, 199822.84 ft
11September 6, 201822.76 ft
12December 18, 201522.68 ft
13May 28, 200422.57 ft
14February 3, 197322.52 ft
15March 17, 201922.32 ft
16April 30, 200722.10 ft
17June 19, 198421.76 ft
18June 11, 201121.73 ft
19March 16, 200121.32 ft
20March 10, 200921.30 ft
21June 8, 199121.26 ft
22June 15, 194721.26 ft
23May 22, 197421.22 ft
24June 16, 196621.10 ft
25February 22, 198521.06 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 26, 2025: 20.26 ft
  • May 24, 2024: 23.29 ft
  • March 1, 2023: 17.13 ft
  • June 17, 2022: 18.05 ft
  • March 4, 2021: 13.63 ft
  • June 10, 2020: 18.75 ft
  • March 17, 2019: 22.32 ft
  • September 6, 2018: 22.76 ft
  • January 24, 2017: 17.22 ft
  • January 22, 2017: 19.97 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.