Rivers in Wisconsin

Root River at Franklin

Milwaukee County, WisconsinNWS FRKW3USGS 04087220Dousman office

Action stage
7.23ftStage

Observed Sun, Sep 20, 10:00 AM CDT

Flood stage
8.00 ft
Forecast crest
8.00 ftSun, Sep 20, 7:00 PM CDT
Record crest
11.71 ft2025

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood12.00 ft
Moderate flood10.00 ft
Minor flood8.00 ft
Action7.00 ft
  1. 12.00 ftNicholson Rd, Drexel, S Howell Ave, S 60th and Oakwood Rd, 8 Mile Rd and 27th St, Root River Parkway and Ryan Rd are flooded. Yards along the river are flooded.
  2. 11.00 ftNicholson Rd, Drexel, S Howell Ave, S 60th and Oakwood Rd, 8 Mile Rd and 27th St and Root River Parkway are flooded. Water approaches Ryan Rd. Yards along the river are flooded.
  3. 10.50 ftNicholson Rd, Drexel, S Howell Ave, S 60th and Oakwood Rd, 8 Mile Rd and 27th St flood. Portions of Root River Parkway are flooded. Yards along the river are flooded.
  4. 9.50 ftOakwood Road near S 60th is flooded. Water approaches 8 Mile Rd and 27th St. Nicholson Rd may be flooded. Some yards along the river are flooded. Portions of Root River Parkway are flooded.
  5. 9.00 ftPortions of the Root River Parkway are flooded. Oakwood Road near S 60th is flooded. Some yards along the river are flooded.
  6. 8.00 ftA low spot on Oakwood Road is flooded. Some yards along the river flood.
  7. 7.00 ftThere is minor flooding to agricultural land.

Flood outlook

Significant river flooding is possible here through September 25.

Weather conditions indicate that significant flooding could occur; it is neither certain nor imminent.

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding5%
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

66 crests on NOAA’s list since 1960.

#DateStage
1August 10, 202511.71 ft
2June 8, 200811.00 ft
3July 23, 201010.51 ft
4March 30, 19609.57 ft
5May 18, 20209.48 ft
6July 3, 20009.43 ft
7June 20, 20099.32 ft
8April 21, 19739.31 ft
9September 12, 20229.30 ft
10April 16, 20269.23 ft
11June 13, 19999.16 ft
12September 13, 20199.07 ft
13June 22, 19978.94 ft
14April 18, 20138.91 ft
15April 20, 19938.90 ft
16September 18, 19728.80 ft
17March 16, 20148.75 ft
18February 22, 20188.70 ft
19June 24, 20108.70 ft
20February 20, 20188.68 ft
21May 13, 20148.67 ft
22December 28, 20088.62 ft
23October 3, 20198.61 ft
24May 23, 20048.60 ft
25March 5, 19768.58 ft

Most recent crests

  • April 16, 2026: 9.23 ft
  • April 4, 2026: 8.00 ft
  • August 10, 2025: 11.71 ft
  • April 3, 2024: 8.24 ft
  • February 28, 2023: 8.44 ft
  • September 12, 2022: 9.30 ft
  • August 3, 2020: 8.29 ft
  • May 18, 2020: 9.48 ft
  • April 30, 2020: 8.48 ft
  • October 3, 2019: 8.61 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.