Smith River at Bassett, 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 02072500 sits on the Smith River and reads everything draining 259 square miles of the Upper Dan basin. Its datum sits 752 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1951, 76 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Smith River near Philpott, VA, reading 215 square miles. This gauge adds the 44 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Smith River at Martinsville, VA at 379 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 68% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Smith River at Eden, NC.

Normal flows here

The Smith River runs a median of 279 cfs at this gauge across 76 years of record. May is the fullest month at a median 312 cfs, and November the leanest at 198 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 6,310 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 44 cfs in 1964.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1951 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

NWS action stage at this gauge is 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 15.2 feet, in September 1987.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BASV2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.