Cranes Nest River near Clintwood, 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 03208950 sits on the Cranes Nest River and reads everything draining 66 square miles of the Upper Levisa basin. Its datum sits 1,440 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1964, 63 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 Pound River below Flannagan Dam, near Haysi, VA at 221 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 30% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Russell Fork at Bartlick, VA and Russell Fork at Cedarville, KY.

Normal flows here

The Cranes Nest River runs a median of 36 cfs at this gauge across 63 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 100 cfs, and September the leanest at 15 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 8,000 cfs in 1977, and the lowest is 0.7 cfs in 1964.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1964 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Cranes Nest River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 11 feet. NWS starts watching it at 9 feet. The highest crest on record is 26.1 feet, in April 1977.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CNRV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.