Aroostook River at Washburn, ME
River level and flood forecast · Aroostook County
The river is 13.2 ft below flood stage (14 ft).
Forecast to rise to 1.0 ft Thu 2 AM, below the 14 ft flood stage.
Flow: 139 cubic feet per second (USGS).
Much lower than normal for October 13.
Usual for October 13: 451 to 2,080 cubic feet per second (the middle half of 96 years).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 11:14 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
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An email when the National Weather Service forecasts Aroostook River at Washburn to flood, when it floods, and when it's over.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 20 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 17 ft |
| Flood stage | 14 ft |
| Action stage | 12.5 ft |
| Record crest (April 18, 2015) | 21.14 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 21.5 ftHistoric flooding. Catastrophic damage to homes and camps between Castle Hill and Presque Isle. Castle Hill Road bridge inundated by floodwaters. Significant road closures and infastructure integrity threatened.
- 20 ftWidespread flooding of Gardner Creek Road, South Wade Road, Parsons Road and State Route 164. Numerous homes and camps inundated from Wade and Washburn downstream to Presque Isle. Flooding similar to December 1973.
- 19.5 ftWater reaches the bottom of the Castle Hill Road bridge. Similar flooding to the flood of April 20th, 2019. Gardner Creek Road is impassable in several locations with several homes & camps along the river inundated. Backwater flooding of Clayton Brook floods Parsons Road. Route 164 is closed due to backwater flooding on numerous creeks and streams between Adaline to Crouseville and downstream to Presque Isle.
- 17 ftSeveral structures inundated on Gardner Creek Road. Gardner Creek Road is impassable at Gardner Brook due to backwater. Backwater in Salmon Brook will cause minor flooding of Gardner Creek Road in Washburn.
- 15 ftMinor flooding on Gardner Creek Road in Washburn and Wade. Numerous river side camps and properties threatened between Castle Hill and Wade. Minor flooding in Crouseville along Route 164 near Rum Rapids. Dangerous swiftwater flows through Washburn. Backwater in Salmon Brook may begin to flood Gardner Creek Road in Washburn.
- 14 ftMinor flooding along State Route 164 and Parsons Road mainly impacting agricultural fields. Backwater issues will cause Clayton Brook to threaten Parsons Road. Backwater will also cause streams near Langille Road and State Route 164 to threaten properties. Low lying properties along Gardner Creek Road will begin to flood. Camps along the river banks in Wade and Castle Hill begin to be threatened.
- 12.5 ftRiver approaches bankfull with increasingly dangerous flows.
Highest crests on record
- 21.14 ft — April 18, 2015
- 20.91 ft — December 24, 1973
- 19.66 ft — April 20, 2019
- 17.8 ft — April 8, 1990
- 17.47 ft — April 12, 1991
Recent crests: 10.11 ft (April 15, 2024) · 10.03 ft (December 20, 2023) · 19.66 ft (April 20, 2019) · 14.99 ft (April 21, 2018) · 21.14 ft (April 18, 2015)
Highest flow on record
49,500 cubic feet per second — May 1, 2008. From the USGS's yearly peaks since 1931.
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (WSHM1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.