Rivers in Iowa

Beaver Creek near Grimes

Polk County, IowaNWS GRMI4USGS 05481950Des Moines office

Below flood stage
5.94ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 10:15 AM CDT

Flood stage
14.00 ft
Record crest
16.58 ft1993

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood17.00 ft
Moderate flood16.00 ft
Minor flood14.00 ft
Action11.00 ft
  1. 23.00 ftWater reaches the road surface of the NW 70th Ave bridge.
  2. 22.40 ftWater affects the low part of the west approach to the NW 70th Ave bridge.
  3. 18.00 ftWater reaches the bottom of the NW 70th Ave bridge deck.
  4. 16.00 ftWater affects the east approach of the NW 70th Ave bridge.
  5. 14.00 ftWater affects Hwy R22 south of Iowa 141 as well as Hwy F31 west of Granger.
  6. 12.00 ftThe west river bank overflows just south of the NW 70th Ave bridge.
  7. 10.00 ftWater flows through the pedestrian underpass at NW 62nd St.
  8. 9.00 ftBeaver Creek goes out of its banks at the meanders just north of NW 62nd 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 August 28, 2026.

Crest history

70 crests on NOAA’s list since 1960.

#DateStage
1July 10, 199316.58 ft
2August 11, 201014.90 ft
3June 30, 198614.73 ft
4May 19, 197414.69 ft
5May 24, 200414.59 ft
6June 1, 200814.51 ft
7March 16, 201914.22 ft
8June 19, 199014.20 ft
9May 26, 196014.05 ft
10June 13, 196614.04 ft
11July 1, 201813.92 ft
12March 20, 197913.88 ft
13April 27, 200713.86 ft
14February 20, 197113.35 ft
15December 15, 201513.35 ft
16April 2, 196513.25 ft
17June 17, 199813.20 ft
18June 10, 196713.11 ft
19March 19, 196913.04 ft
20May 15, 197012.97 ft
21April 17, 197312.94 ft
22June 26, 201512.93 ft
23May 30, 196212.90 ft
24July 30, 201512.44 ft
25June 29, 198312.41 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 31, 2025: 10.85 ft
  • May 23, 2024: 11.78 ft
  • June 7, 2022: 12.19 ft
  • May 22, 2021: 4.94 ft
  • May 28, 2020: 9.44 ft
  • March 16, 2019: 14.22 ft
  • July 1, 2018: 13.92 ft
  • May 21, 2017: 8.84 ft
  • December 15, 2015: 13.35 ft
  • July 30, 2015: 12.44 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.