Slate River near Arvonia, 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 02030500 sits on the Slate River and reads everything draining 226 square miles of the Middle James-Buffalo basin. Its datum sits 238 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1926, 89 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 James River at Cartersville, VA at 6,252 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 4% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Slate River runs a median of 117 cfs at this gauge across 89 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 217 cfs, and September the leanest at 54 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 33,100 cfs in 1972, and the lowest is 0.5 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1926 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Slate River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 12 feet. NWS starts watching it at 10 feet. The highest crest on record is 25.1 feet, in June 1972.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ARVV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.