Blackwater River near Rocky Mount, 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 02056900 sits on the Blackwater River and reads everything draining 115 square miles of the Upper Roanoke basin. Its datum sits 876 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 49 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 Smith Mountain Lake at Dam near Penhook, VA at 1,016 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 11% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Blackwater River runs a median of 94 cfs at this gauge across 49 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 144 cfs, and September the leanest at 46 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 5,410 cfs in 1986, and the lowest is 2.7 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1977 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Blackwater River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 12 feet. NWS starts watching it at 9 feet. The highest crest on record is 21.9 feet, in November 1985.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BLAV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.