Cahaba River near West Blocton AL 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 02423647 sits on the Cahaba River and reads everything draining 593 square miles of the Cahaba basin. Its datum sits 250 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1976 to 1984, 9 years in all.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Cahaba River near Helena AL, reading 335 square miles. This gauge adds the 258 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cahaba River at Centreville AL at 1,027 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 58% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Cahaba River runs a median of 388 cfs at this gauge across 9 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,330 cfs, and October the leanest at 118 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 35,100 cfs in 1976, and the lowest is 46 cfs in 1982.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1976 to 1984. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median. USGS stopped publishing a daily flow record at this gauge, so these are historical norms, not a baseline for current readings.

Flood stages and record crests

The Cahaba River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 13 feet. The highest crest on record is 20 feet, in April 1979.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CWBA1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.