Rapidan River near Culpeper, 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 01667500 sits on the Rapidan River and reads everything draining 468 square miles of the Rapidan-Upper Rappahannock basin. Its datum sits 240 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1931, 95 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Rapidan River near Ruckersville, VA, reading 115 square miles. This gauge adds the 353 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, VA at 1,595 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 29% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Rapidan River runs a median of 346 cfs at this gauge across 95 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 598 cfs, and September the leanest at 128 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 43,500 cfs in 1995, and the lowest is 1.5 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1931 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Rapidan River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 11 feet. The highest crest on record is 30.4 feet, in June 1995.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CLPV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.