Roanoke River at Altavista, 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 02060500 sits on the Roanoke River and reads everything draining 1,782 square miles of the Upper Roanoke basin. Its datum sits 502 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1980, 46 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Leesville Lake at Dam near Leesville, VA, reading 1,474 square miles. This gauge adds the 308 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Roanoke (Staunton) River at Brookneal, VA at 2,404 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 74% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Roanoke River runs a median of 1,025 cfs at this gauge across 46 years of record. April is the fullest month at a median 1,780 cfs, and September the leanest at 806 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 46,700 cfs in 1987, and the lowest is 73 cfs in 1983.

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 Roanoke River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 18 feet. NWS starts watching it at 16 feet. The highest crest on record is 40.1 feet, in August 1940.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ALTV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.