Cumberland River at Williamsburg, KY 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 03404000 sits on the Cumberland River and reads everything draining 1,607 square miles of the Upper Cumberland basin. Its datum sits 891 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1980, 46 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Cumberland River at Barbourville, KY, reading 960 square miles. This gauge adds the 647 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cumberland River at Cumberland Falls, KY at 1,977 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 81% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Cumberland River runs a median of 1,200 cfs at this gauge across 46 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 3,530 cfs, and September the leanest at 311 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 44,500 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 62 cfs in 1981.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1980 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Cumberland River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 21 feet. NWS starts watching it at 17 feet. The highest crest on record is 35 feet, in April 1977.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WLBK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.