Ohio River History - Cincinnati

Ohio River at Cincinnati History Maximum/Minimum Recorded Ohio River Stages at Cincinnati, as assembled by NWS WFO Wilmington. (Gage and data Owned/Maintained by US Army Corps/USGS) Cincinnati River Ice History

* Gage frozen; exact stage unknown

Flood Crests
Highest Annual / Lowest Annual

This tabulation represents a continuous record since June 1, 1858 of Flood Crests or highest annual and lowest annual stages of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. These readings are based on observations taken at the following locations:

• Old Water Works Jun 1, 1858 to Oct 7, 1908 (430.06 ORD)
• Foot of Broadway Oct 8, 1908 to Dec 31, 1934 (429.763 ORD)
• West End Power Plant Jan 1, 1935 to Dec 31, 1946 (428.80 ORD)
• Suspension Bridge Jan 1, 1947 to 2009 (429.613 ORD)
• Suspension Bridge 2009 to Present (428.88 NGVD29)
• Datum updated to 428.05 NAVD88 in 2021

(ORD) Ohio River Datum = US Army Corps Datum of 1912

Flood Stages at Cincinnati:
1873 to 1893: 45 feet
1899 to Mar 31, 1922: 50 feet
Apr 1, 1922 to Present: 52 feet

Sources of information used in compiling this continuous record:

1. Stages of Mississippi River above Cairo. Mississippi River Commission 2d ed. 1891. Cincinnati stages June 1, 1858 to December 31, 1886.
2. U.S. Weather Bureau/National Weather Service, Daily River Stages, Cincinnati Stages November 1, 1874 to 2000.
3. U.S Geological Survey Records - 2000-Present.

Note: For the period November 1, 1874 to December 31, 1889 the records were under the Army Signal Corps

The following crest-stage information has not been documented nor tied in with any specific gage. It is only given to offer some idea of floods prior to 1858. This crest-stage information was taken from old records on file in the Ohio River Forecast Center of the Weather Bureau in Cincinnati.

1 other dates also
2 Pool stage
3 Earliest seasonal flood
4 Second-earliest seasonal flood
5 Effective January 1, 1963, upon the activation of Markland Dam, the normal pool stage at Cincinnati was raised to 25.4 feet.
6 Latest in the Spring of any known flood crest. The stage for June 1st was 53.6. The earliest known seasonal flood crest occurred December 2, 1985, After flood stage was reached the evening of December 1st.
7 Oct 2006 - highest October crest on record
8 Seven of 14 Barges which broke loose above Markland Dam lodged against the dam and prevented closing of some gates. Lowest of the year outside of this period was 25.7