Roanoke River at Roanoke, 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 02055000 sits on the Roanoke River and reads everything draining 384 square miles of the Upper Roanoke basin. Its datum sits 906 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1899, 127 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Roanoke River at Glenvar, VA, reading 281 square miles. This gauge adds the 103 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Roanoke River at Niagara, VA at 509 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 75% of the water measured there. It then enters Smith Mountain Lake at Dam near Penhook, VA, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The Roanoke River runs a median of 193 cfs at this gauge across 127 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 455 cfs, and September the leanest at 100 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 18,200 cfs in 1940, and the lowest is 16 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1899 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 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 6 feet. The highest crest on record is 23.4 feet, in November 1985.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RONV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.