Calcasieu River near Oakdale water level
USGS gauge 08013250 · Allen Parish · Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana · NWS gauge OKDL1
gage height, Oct 23, 2026 at 2:30 PM CDT · 3 hours ago
- Below NWS minor flood stage
- 9.0 ft
- NWS action stage
- 15.0 ft
- NWS minor flood stage
- 17.0 ft
- NWS moderate flood stage
- 21.0 ft
- NWS major flood stage
- 27.0 ft
- Highest since 2022 (USGS)
- 20.70 ft (April 14, 2024)
- Usual range
- 7.99 to 8.02 ft
USGS marks recent readings as provisional: they can be revised after review.
Last 7 days
Hourly averages of USGS readings. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since September 11, 2026.
How to read this gauge
Gage height is the height of the water surface above this gauge's own zero point, which sits at 90.00 ft NAVD88. It is not a water depth and not an elevation: add 90.00 ft to get the water surface elevation.
The flood stages are the National Weather Service's, on the same scale as the gage height; they are the NWS's references for this location, not estimates made here.
Daily highs and lows since September 11, 2026
Annual peaks since 2022
In 5 complete water years of comparable USGS records (since 2022), the highest peak was 20.70 ft on April 14, 2024. So far in water year 2027 (since October 1) the highest reading is 8.02 ft on October 2, 2026.
Each dot is the highest gage height of a water year (October to September), from the USGS annual peak record, with recent years USGS has not published yet taken from its 15-minute readings and this site's own; hover a dot for its date. Dashed lines are NWS flood stages.
NWS historic crests
| Date | Crest | Above minor flood stage |
|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1953 | 27.62 ft | 10.6 ft |
| May 2, 1953 | 26.36 ft | 9.4 ft |
| June 30, 1989 | 26.00 ft | 9.0 ft |
| March 13, 2016 | 24.70 ft | 7.7 ft |
| February 13, 1966 | 24.53 ft | 7.5 ft |
| April 5, 2017 | 24.10 ft | 7.1 ft |
| May 16, 2004 | 23.00 ft | 6.0 ft |
| September 2, 2017 | 21.80 ft | 4.8 ft |
The highest crests the National Weather Service lists for this gauge, as published. They can differ from the USGS annual peaks above: USGS records the year's highest gage height, which is not always the crest the NWS lists for the same flood.
Download the readings
calcasieu-river-near-oakdale.csv (CSV): every reading stored for this gauge since September 11, 2026, 4,047 rows, with time in UTC and Central, gage height in feet, and the USGS approval status.
Source. Gage height from the U.S. Geological Survey; flood stages and historic crests from the NWS National Water Prediction Service. This site is not affiliated with either agency.