Des Plaines River near Gurnee, IL
River level and flood forecast · Lake County
Normal3.9 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM
The river is 3.1 ft below flood stage (7 ft).
Flow: 260 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Fri, Oct 2, 8:18 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 11 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 9 ft |
| Flood stage | 7 ft |
| Action stage | 6.5 ft |
| Record crest (July 16, 2017) | 12.09 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 13.5 ftStructures are threatened at Libertyville Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- 12.5 ftStructures are threatened at Mundelein Water Reclamation Facility near Libertyville.
- 12 ftLibertyville Wastewater Treatment Plant property is threatened.
- 11 ftUS-41 (Skokie Highway) threatened near the river in Gurnee. Mundelein Water Reclamation Facility property is threatened near Libertyville.
- 10 ftResidences threatened along Kilbourne Road and near O'Plaine Road and McClure Avenue in Gurnee. Businesses threatened along Old Grand Avenue near IL-132 in Gurnee. IL-132 (Grand Avenue) is threatened east of the river in Gurnee.
- 9 ftKilbourne Road and Emerald Avenue threatened near Grand Avenue in Gurnee.
- 7 ftForest land inundated near the river in Gurnee.
- 6.5 ftLow-lying sections of the Des Plaines River trail inundated.
- 6 ftWater overtops low-lying banks in Gurnee.
Highest crests on record
- 12.09 ft — July 16, 2017
- 11.95 ft — September 27, 1986
- 11.76 ft — May 25, 2004
- 11.2 ft — April 20, 2013
- 10.64 ft — April 3, 1960
Recent crests: 6.63 ft (March 13, 2021) · 9.84 ft (May 20, 2020) · 9.73 ft (May 2, 2020) · 8.01 ft (April 1, 2020) · 6.88 ft (November 1, 2019)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (GUNI2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.