Back Creek near Mountain Grove, VA Water Level Today

NWS river forecast

Forecast from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Issued a few times a day and only while a forecast is active. Not for navigation.

Last 30 days

About this gauge

USGS gauge 02011500 sits on Back Creek and reads everything draining 134 square miles of the Upper James basin. Its datum sits 1,701 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1985, 42 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Back Creek at Sunrise, VA, reading 76 square miles. This gauge adds the 58 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Lake Moomaw (North) near Hot Springs, VA at 320 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 42% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Jackson River below Gathright Dam near Hot Springs, VA, Jackson River at Falling Spring, VA and Jackson River below Dunlap Creek at Covington, VA.

Normal flows here

Back Creek runs a median of 75 cfs at this gauge across 42 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 217 cfs, and September the leanest at 23 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 9,940 cfs in 1996, and the lowest is 8.4 cfs in 1999.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1985 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

Back Creek reaches flood stage at this gauge at 8 feet. NWS starts watching it at 6 feet. The highest crest on record is 12.4 feet, in January 1996.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BKCV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.