James River at Lick Run, 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 02016500 sits on the James River and reads everything draining 1,371 square miles of the Upper James basin. Its datum sits 978 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 below Dunlap Creek at Covington, VA, reading 612 square miles. This gauge adds the 759 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from James River at Buchanan, VA at 2,073 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 66% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The James River runs a median of 866 cfs at this gauge across 47 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,950 cfs, and October the leanest at 430 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 67,500 cfs in 1986, and the lowest is 180 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 16 feet. NWS starts watching it at 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 33 feet, in November 1877.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LIRV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.