Rivers in Iowa

North River near Norwalk

Warren County, IowaNWS NRWI4USGS 05486000Des Moines office

Below flood stage
13.86ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 4:15 AM CDT

Flood stage
22.00 ft
Record crest
25.33 ft1990

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood26.00 ft
Moderate flood25.00 ft
Minor flood22.00 ft
Action17.00 ft
  1. 26.00 ftWater affects parts of Hwy R63.
  2. 25.00 ftWater affects Hwy R57.
  3. 23.00 ftSecondary road closures occur.
  4. 22.00 ftWater is over Iowa 28 immediately south of Norwalk and threatens several rural gravel roads.
  5. 17.00 ftRd closures are possible near creeks adjoining the river.
  6. 16.00 ftWater affects agricultural land.

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

88 crests on NOAA’s list since 1940.

#DateStage
1June 17, 199025.33 ft
2June 13, 194725.30 ft
3September 11, 201425.04 ft
4December 15, 201524.00 ft
5June 13, 200823.91 ft
6March 15, 201923.71 ft
7May 11, 199623.62 ft
8June 26, 201523.60 ft
9August 31, 199323.40 ft
10June 11, 201123.32 ft
11June 10, 197423.25 ft
12April 25, 197623.13 ft
13May 26, 200423.05 ft
14June 11, 198423.03 ft
15March 18, 196522.86 ft
16July 1, 195922.60 ft
17June 15, 201022.50 ft
18August 28, 198722.50 ft
19June 16, 201322.45 ft
20April 19, 197822.44 ft
21February 21, 197122.40 ft
22April 16, 201222.27 ft
23April 17, 197322.23 ft
24March 4, 197022.18 ft
25May 14, 200522.16 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 11, 2025: 18.94 ft
  • July 3, 2024: 16.53 ft
  • April 21, 2023: 15.36 ft
  • June 9, 2022: 18.48 ft
  • July 11, 2021: 13.37 ft
  • October 4, 2019: 20.88 ft
  • March 15, 2019: 23.71 ft
  • June 25, 2018: 17.67 ft
  • March 31, 2017: 16.25 ft
  • December 15, 2015: 24.00 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.