Jackson River below Dunlap Creek at Covington, 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 02013100 sits on the Jackson River and reads everything draining 612 square miles of the Upper James basin. Its datum sits 1,206 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1980, 47 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Five gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Jackson River at Falling Spring, VA, reading 410 square miles. This gauge adds the 202 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from James River at Lick Run, VA at 1,371 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 45% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Jackson River runs a median of 349 cfs at this gauge across 47 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 867 cfs, and November the leanest at 228 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 15,100 cfs in 1996, and the lowest is 67 cfs in 1981.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1980 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Jackson River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 17 feet. NWS starts watching it at 14 feet. The highest crest on record is 24.4 feet, in June 1972.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CVGV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.