James River at Holcomb Rock, 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 02025500 sits on the James River and reads everything draining 3,256 square miles of the Middle James-Buffalo basin. Its datum sits 548 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

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is James River at Blue Ridge Pkwy near Big Island, VA, reading 3,076 square miles. This gauge adds the 180 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Resuens Reservoir near Lynchburg, VA at 3,285 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 99% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to James River at Bent Creek, VA.

Normal flows here

The James River runs a median of 2,070 cfs at this gauge across 47 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 4,310 cfs, and September the leanest at 928 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 180,000 cfs in 1986, and the lowest is 244 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 James River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 22 feet. NWS starts watching it at 18 feet. The highest crest on record is 42.1 feet, in November 1985.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HRKV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.