Rivers in Iowa

Des Moines River near Stratford

Hamilton County, IowaNWS STRI4USGS 05481300Des Moines office

Below flood stage
7.42ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 12:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
19.00 ft
Record crest
28.42 ft2010

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood27.00 ft
Moderate flood25.00 ft
Minor flood19.00 ft
Action14.00 ft
  1. 19.00 ftWater affects 157th St on the west side of Fraser.
  2. 18.80 ftWater affects the 400 block of Juniper Rd...west of Fraser. Water also affects the 1100 block of 155th St...east of Fraser.
  3. 17.80 ftWater affects the lower Ledges road. Water also affects 155th St east of Fraser and Juniper Rd north of Fraser.
  4. 14.00 ftWater primarily affects adjacent lowland areas.

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

62 crests on NOAA’s list since 1968.

#DateStage
1June 28, 201028.42 ft
2June 9, 200827.32 ft
3April 2, 199325.68 ft
4June 19, 198424.08 ft
5June 5, 199123.31 ft
6August 26, 197923.22 ft
7September 24, 201823.08 ft
8August 23, 200722.89 ft
9June 20, 201422.57 ft
10March 18, 201922.26 ft
11July 3, 198322.22 ft
12March 21, 201922.12 ft
13June 27, 202421.31 ft
14May 5, 200121.25 ft
15June 27, 200521.21 ft
16May 25, 200421.21 ft
17May 29, 201320.68 ft
18April 16, 196920.22 ft
19June 25, 197519.36 ft
20June 26, 199419.12 ft
21December 16, 201519.02 ft
22June 18, 199019.01 ft
23March 15, 197318.76 ft
24July 10, 200318.65 ft
25April 24, 199918.35 ft

Most recent crests

  • August 1, 2025: 15.87 ft
  • June 27, 2024: 21.31 ft
  • May 16, 2023: 13.94 ft
  • June 17, 2022: 10.78 ft
  • May 23, 2021: 6.94 ft
  • March 21, 2020: 15.90 ft
  • March 21, 2019: 22.12 ft
  • March 18, 2019: 22.26 ft
  • September 24, 2018: 23.08 ft
  • May 23, 2017: 15.26 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.