Roanoke River at Niagara, 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 02056000 sits on the Roanoke River and reads everything draining 509 square miles of the Upper Roanoke basin. Its datum sits 820 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1927, 100 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Roanoke River at Roanoke, VA, reading 384 square miles. This gauge adds the 125 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Smith Mountain Lake at Dam near Penhook, VA at 1,016 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 50% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Roanoke River runs a median of 300 cfs at this gauge across 100 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 609 cfs, and September the leanest at 182 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 23,100 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 8.0 cfs in 1955.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1927 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 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 11 feet. The highest crest on record is 25.3 feet, in November 1985.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NIAV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.