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Illinois River (AR OK) near Tahlequah, OK

River level and flood forecast · Cherokee County

Normal4.8 ftas of Mon 2:30 PM

The river is 6.3 ft below flood stage (11 ft).

Forecast to hold near 4.8 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 7 AM.

Flow: 204 cubic feet per second (USGS).

The last 7 days and the forecast

2.557.51012.51517.5TueThuSatMonWedFriAction 9 ftFlood 11 ftModerate 14 ftNowObserved (ft)NWS forecast

NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 8:10 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

Major flood stage18 ft
Moderate flood stage14 ft
Flood stage11 ft
Action stage9 ft
Record crest (December 28, 2015)30.69 ft

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

  • 31 ftdevastating flooding occurs along the Illinois River from near Hanging Rock to the headwaters of Lake Tenkiller. Impacts will be similar to the record flood of 30.7 feet in December 2015. State Highway 10 is closed northeast of its intersection with Highway 51. Many cabins and parks are severely flooded or are totally isolated for an extended duration. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 29 ftdevastating flooding occurs along the Illinois River from near Hanging Rock to the headwaters of Lake Tenkiller. State Highway 10 is closed northeast of its intersection with Highway 51. Many cabins and parks are severely flooded or are totally isolated for an extended duration. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation. This will approach the record flood of 30.7 feet in December 2015.
  • 27 ftdevastating flooding occurs along the Illinois River from near Hanging Rock to the headwaters of Lake Tenkiller. State Highway 10 is closed northeast of its intersection with Highway 51. Many cabins and parks are severely flooded or are totally isolated for an extended duration. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation. This will exceed the April 2011 flood of 26 feet and approach the May 1950 flood of 27.9 feet.
  • 25 ftdevastating flooding occurs along the Illinois River from near Hanging Rock to the headwaters of Lake Tenkiller. State Highway 10 is closed northeast of its intersection with Highway 51. Many cabins and parks are severely flooded or are totally isolated for an extended duration. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation. This will approach the April 2011 flood, which reached 26 feet.
  • 23 ftextremely severe flooding occurs along the Illinois River from near Hanging Rock to the headwaters of Lake Tenkiller. State Highway 10 is closed northeast of its intersection with Highway 62. Several cabins and parks are severely flooded and many others are isolated for an extended duration. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 21 ftvery severe flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. State Highway 10 is closed between Hanging Rock and No Head Hollow north of the Highway 10 intersection with Highway 62. Several cabins and parks are severely flooded and many others are isolated. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation.
  • 19 ftsevere flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. State Highway 10 near Hanging Rock and near No Head Hollow north of the intersection with Highway 62 is impassable. Some cabins and parks are severely flooded. This is a very dangerous situation.
  • 18 ftsevere flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Highway 10 near Hanging Rock northeast of Tahlequah is impassable. Some cabins and parks are severely flooded. This is a very dangerous situation. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 17 ftsevere flooding occurs from Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Access roads east of Combs Bridge near Eagles Bluff are impassable. Some cabins and parks may be flooded to a depth of a couple of feet. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 15 ftmoderate flooding occurs from Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Access roads east of the Combs Bridge near Eagles Bluff are impassable. Some cabins and parks may begin to flood. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 14 ftmoderate flooding occurs from Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Access roads east of the Combs Bridge near Eagles Bluff will be impassable. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 13 ftminor flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Access roads east of the Combs Bridge near Eagles Bluff may be threatened. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 12 ftminor flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Extreme turbulence makes the river too hazardous for floating.
  • 11 ftminor flooding occurs from near Hanging Rock downstream towards Tahlequah. Floating the river is too hazardous due to strong turbulence.
  • 9 ftno flooding occurs but all recreational floating along the Illinois River ceases at and above 9.5 feet.

Highest crests on record

  1. 30.69 ft — December 28, 2015
  2. 29.29 ft — April 30, 2017
  3. 27.94 ft — May 10, 1950
  4. 27.53 ft — May 6, 2022
  5. 26 ft — January 1, 1916

Recent crests: 9.62 ft (June 23, 2026) · 11.79 ft (June 15, 2026) · 10.08 ft (June 12, 2026) · 12.44 ft (June 9, 2026) · 11.6 ft (September 25, 2025)

Up and down the river, and nearby

See it on the live map →Radar & warnings for Cherokee CountyNWS gauge pageUSGS gauge 07196500

Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (TALO2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.