Back Creek near Sunrise, 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 02011460 sits on Back Creek and reads everything draining 61 square miles of the Upper James basin. Its datum sits 2,200 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1974, 52 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from Back Creek at Vepco Dam near Sunrise, VA at 73 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 83% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Back Creek at Sunrise, VA, Back Creek near Mountain Grove, VA and Jackson River below Gathright Dam near Hot Springs, VA.

Normal flows here

Back Creek runs a median of 48 cfs at this gauge across 52 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 112 cfs, and September the leanest at 6.9 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 6,280 cfs in 1986, and the lowest is 0.8 cfs in 2024.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1974 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 7 feet. NWS starts watching it at 5 feet. The highest crest on record is 10 feet, in November 1985.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BKSV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.