North Fork Catoctin Creek at Rt 681 near Waterford, 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 01638420 sits on the North Fork Catoctin Creek and reads everything draining 23 square miles of the Middle Potomac-Catoctin basin. Its datum sits 326 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2001, 25 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 Catoctin Creek at Taylorstown, VA at 90 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 26% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Potomac River at Point of Rocks, MD and Potomac River at Edwards Ferry near Poolesville,md.

Normal flows here

The North Fork Catoctin Creek runs a median of 13 cfs at this gauge across 25 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 25 cfs, and September the leanest at 2.2 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 1,190 cfs in 2008, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2001 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The North Fork Catoctin Creek reaches flood stage at this gauge at 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 11 feet, in September 2004.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WNFV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.