Rivers in Wisconsin

Pecatonica River at Darlington

Lafayette County, WisconsinNWS DARW3USGS 05432500Dousman office

Below flood stage
4.65ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 22, 1:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
13.50 ft
Record crest
20.71 ft1950

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood16.00 ft
Moderate flood15.00 ft
Minor flood13.50 ft
Action10.00 ft
  1. 20.80 ftThere is major urban flooding in Darlington. The Wisconsin Power and Light substation in Darlington is flooded.
  2. 19.40 ftThere is major urban flooding in darlington. Highways 23 and 81 are flooded and closed as are some other streets in downtown Darlington. The Wisconsin Power and Light substation in Darlington is flooded.
  3. 19.00 ftThere is major urban flooding in Darlington. The Wisconsin Power and Light substation in Darlington is flooded.
  4. 18.00 ftThere is major urban flooding in Darlington.
  5. 17.00 ftThere is major urban flooding in Darlington.
  6. 16.00 ftThere is major urban flooding in Darlington. Highways 23 and 81 are flooded and closed as are some streets in downtown Darlington.
  7. 15.80 ftHighways 23 and 81 in Darlington are flooded and closed as is Main Street. The Lafayette County Fairgrounds are flooded.
  8. 15.50 ftThere is flooding in Calamine, Wisconsin, about 5 miles upstream of Darlington. Highways 23 and 81 are flooded and closed in Darlington as is a good part of Main Street. The Lafayette County Fairgrounds are flooded.
  9. 15.00 ftHighways 23 (Main St bridge) and 81 are flooded and closed in Darlington. A portion of Main Street in Darlington is flooded. A good part of the Lafayette County Fairgrounds is flooded.
  10. 13.90 ftFloodwaters cover a portion of Main Street in Darlington. A part of the Lafayette County Fairgrounds is flooded.
  11. 13.50 ftFloodwaters touch Main Street in Darlington. A part of the Lafayette County Fairgrounds has 2 to 3 feet of water over it.
  12. 13.00 ftThere is minor urban flooding in Darlington.
  13. 12.00 ftThere is flooding of agricultural land in the Darlington area.
  14. 11.00 ftThere is flooding of agricultural land and lowland.
  15. 10.00 ftThere is minor lowland flooding in the Darlington area.

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

58 crests on NOAA’s list since 1937.

#DateStage
1July 16, 195020.71 ft
2June 29, 199019.80 ft
3June 30, 196919.16 ft
4July 6, 199318.22 ft
5February 28, 194817.65 ft
6March 14, 201917.60 ft
7February 21, 193717.60 ft
8February 20, 195317.47 ft
9January 6, 194617.18 ft
10April 1, 195917.16 ft
11July 8, 195116.61 ft
12January 25, 196716.47 ft
13March 30, 196016.06 ft
14February 9, 196616.00 ft
15October 3, 201915.84 ft
16January 22, 195415.79 ft
17June 22, 195415.79 ft
18June 1, 200015.77 ft
19June 9, 200815.75 ft
20February 20, 199415.75 ft
21March 16, 194315.73 ft
22June 14, 200815.65 ft
23March 22, 197515.64 ft
24October 3, 201815.42 ft
25March 17, 196315.38 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 16, 2024: 12.05 ft
  • February 28, 2023: 12.57 ft
  • March 6, 2022: 6.89 ft
  • October 23, 2020: 9.17 ft
  • October 3, 2019: 15.84 ft
  • September 14, 2019: 14.31 ft
  • March 14, 2019: 17.60 ft
  • October 12, 2018: 13.95 ft
  • October 3, 2018: 15.42 ft
  • February 21, 2018: 15.30 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 precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

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.