Rivers in Illinois

Des Plaines River near Des Plaines

Cook County, IllinoisNWS DSPI2USGS 05529000Romeoville office

Below flood stage
12.11ftStage

Observed Sun, Sep 20, 1:45 PM CDT

Flood stage
15.00 ft
Forecast crest
16.90 ftMon, Sep 21, 1:00 PM CDT
Record crest
20.92 ft2013

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood19.00 ft
Moderate flood18.00 ft
Minor flood15.00 ft
Action13.50 ft
  1. 22.50 ftStructures threatened at Chicago Executive Airport in Prospect Heights.
  2. 21.50 ftTaxiways and runways threatened at Chicago Executive Airport in Prospect Heights.
  3. 21.00 ftInundation of structures and roadways reaches up to 1 block from the river in Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, and Prospect Heights. Milwaukee Avenue threatened at Palatine Road in Prospect Heights. Algonquin Road threatened east of the river in Des Plaines.
  4. 20.00 ftWater reaches the top of the floodwall along Miner Street causing numerous structures and roadways to be threatened near Miner Street and Busse Highway in Des Plaines. Structures threatened along Prairie Avenue near South River Road in Des Plaines.
  5. 18.50 ftBig Bend Road threatened in Des Plaines.
  6. 17.00 ftCentral Road and Golf Road are threatened in Des Plaines.
  7. 15.00 ftStructures threatened at Methodist Campground in Des Plaines. Forest preserve roadways are threatened.
  8. 14.00 ftLow-lying Methodist Campground property and forest preserve property threatened near Des Plaines.
  9. 13.00 ftCamp Ground Road and Des Plaines River Trail threatened near Miner Street in Des Plaines.
  10. 12.00 ftLow-lying sections of the Des Plaines River Trail threatened near Des Plaines.

Flood outlook

Significant river flooding is likely here through September 25.

Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding can be expected during the outlook period.

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding14%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The five-day outlook is from the Weather Prediction Center with the River Forecast Centers. The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued August 28, 2026.

Crest history

81 crests on NOAA’s list since 1938.

#DateStage
1April 19, 201320.92 ft
2October 1, 198620.88 ft
3September 14, 200820.00 ft
4July 14, 201719.92 ft
5May 18, 202019.77 ft
6July 4, 193819.00 ft
7August 14, 198718.77 ft
8May 21, 199618.67 ft
9August 2, 200718.62 ft
10April 2, 196018.56 ft
11May 27, 200418.51 ft
12February 22, 199718.05 ft
13July 23, 198217.95 ft
14September 14, 201917.88 ft
15April 24, 199917.80 ft
16April 25, 195017.78 ft
17March 12, 202117.78 ft
18April 3, 198317.76 ft
19June 3, 197017.65 ft
20July 23, 201117.55 ft
21March 5, 198517.53 ft
22December 28, 200817.43 ft
23October 14, 200117.38 ft
24March 20, 197917.34 ft
25May 14, 201017.19 ft

Most recent crests

  • March 12, 2021: 17.78 ft
  • May 18, 2020: 19.77 ft
  • May 2, 2020: 16.96 ft
  • March 29, 2020: 15.15 ft
  • September 14, 2019: 17.88 ft
  • June 21, 2019: 14.96 ft
  • May 1, 2019: 15.84 ft
  • March 16, 2019: 15.30 ft
  • February 8, 2019: 15.15 ft
  • September 4, 2018: 16.17 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 and future precipitation. The stages/flows that will occur may be different if future rainfall is different than forecast.

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.