Yellow River at Babcock water level

Name: Yellow River at Babcock water level (U.S. Geological Survey)
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
License: https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits

River gauge, Yellow River, Wisconsin, United States

Directions

Below flood stage

Water level

2.42ft Down 0.11 ft over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 08:00 AM CDT (41 min ago)

Flow: 61.0 cfs

History

7 days

Water level Minor flood stage

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at Yellow River at Babcock, where the gauge shows 2.42 ft.

It is 9.58 ft below the flood stage of 12.00 ft.

It is still going down, by 0.11 ft over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 1.98 ft – 2.53 ft.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, until steadier rain returns.

Judged against the official flood stage for this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Highest on record: 18.43 ftSeptember 24, 2010

Paddling and fishing conditions

Most paddlers and anglers will find the river in good shape at this stage.

For reference, flood stage is 12.00 ft.

What happens at each level

18.43 ft: Highway 80 is closed near Babcock. About a foot of water is covering the Highway 80 bridge over the river and most of the town of Babcock. Up to 6 inches of water covers a portion of the Ocean Spray Company.
17.00 ft: Highway 80 is closed near the town of Babcock. Widespread wooded land along the river is flooded.
15.60 ft: Floodwaters are near a couple of homes in the Babcock area near Highway 173.
14.00 ft: Widespread flooding is occurring in wooded lowland and agricultural areas.
12.00 ft: Flooding is confined mainly to agricultural and wooded lowland and marshes.
10.00 ft: There is minor flooding to lowland and agricultural land.
2.42 ft: Right now
2.00 ft: Submerged rocks and structures may become more hazardous to boaters over more sections of the river.

Impact statements from the U.S. National Weather Service.

Highest crests on record

Chance of at least minor flooding in October to December: 30 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	18.43 ft	September 24, 2010
2	17.38 ft	April 2, 1952
3	17.05 ft	March 31, 1967
4	16.03 ft	March 27, 1963
5	15.95 ft	April 18, 2019
6	15.92 ft	August 29, 2021
7	15.85 ft	April 5, 1956
8	15.78 ft	March 18, 1945
9	15.77 ft	September 22, 1986
10	15.64 ft	February 22, 2017

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

19 Mon 65° 41° – Wind 7 mph

20 Tue 64° 43° – Wind 7 mph

21 Wed 68° 46° – Wind 7 mph

22 Thu 70° 51° – Wind 5 mph

23 Fri 70° 52° – Wind 12 mph

24 Sat 70° 59° – Wind 16 mph

25 Sun 64° 50° 0.13 in Wind 18 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:22 AM Sunset 06:10 PM Daylight 10 hr, 47 min First quarter 68%

Map

Other gauges on the Yellow River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Yellow River near IonRiver gauge, Yellow River	6.17 ft	Below flood stage	−0.03 ft	100 mi
Yellow River at NecedahRiver gauge, Yellow River	9.79 ft	Below flood stage	+0.02 ft	19 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Tenmile Creek near NekoosaRiver gauge, Tenmile Creek	4.69 ft	Below flood stage	±0	16 mi
Wisconsin River at Wisconsin RapidsRiver gauge, Wisconsin River	2.65 ft	Below flood stage	−0.04 ft	16 mi
Big Roche A Cri Creek at Highway G near LeolaRiver gauge, Big Roche A Cri Creek	22.5 cfs	Normal	−0.8 cfs	26 mi
S.br.tenmile Creek near BancroftRiver gauge, S.br.tenmile Creek	9.9 cfs	Normal	−0.2 cfs	28 mi
Lemonweir River at New LisbonRiver gauge, Lemonweir River	4.36 ft	Below flood stage	−0.11 ft	29 mi
Black River at NeillsvilleRiver gauge, Black River	3.26 ft	Below flood stage	−0.07 ft	30 mi
Little Plover River near PloverRiver gauge, Little Plover River	8.0 cfs	High	+0.5 cfs	32 mi
Stillwell Creek at Sixteenth Court near TomahRiver gauge, Stillwell Creek	1.29 ft	Below flood stage	±0	34 mi

Questions and answers

What is flood stage for the Yellow River at Babcock?

The official flood stage is 12.00 ft. The level is currently 9.58 ft below it.

Is gage height the same as water depth?

No. Gage height is measured from a fixed reference point chosen by the agency, so a reading of 10 ft does not mean the river is 10 ft deep.

What is the water level of Yellow River at Babcock today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 08:00 AM CDT, the water level was 2.42 ft. Down 0.11 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is Yellow River at Babcock rising or falling?

Down 0.11 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Yellow River at Babcock normal?

Below flood stage. Judged against the official flood stage for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Yellow River at Babcock?

The highest level on record is 18.43 ft on September 24, 2010.

How often is this data updated?

The U.S. Geological Survey publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:05402000 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 44.30222, -90.12194 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: NAVD88
Update interval: every 15 minutes
Licence: Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	2.42 ft	2026-10-20 13:00	Provisional
Flow	61.0 cfs	2026-10-20 13:00	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Yellow River at Babcock (usgs:05402000). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/wisconsin/yellow-river-at-babcock

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer