Valley Creek at Ave W near Ensley, AL 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 02461192 sits on Valley Creek and reads everything draining 14 square miles of the Upper Black Warrior basin. Only 14 square miles of that contributes flow in a normal year; the rest is closed basin that does not drain to the river. Its datum sits 519 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2017, 9 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Valley Creek at Center St at Birmingham, AL, reading 7.0 square miles. This gauge adds the 6.5 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Valley Creek below Brighton, Ala at 30 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 45% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Valley Creek near Bessemer, AL and Valley Creek near Oak Grove AL.

Normal flows here

Valley Creek runs a median of 19 cfs at this gauge across 9 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 28 cfs, and September the leanest at 14 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 906 cfs in 2022, and the lowest is 8.6 cfs in 2017.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2017 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

Valley Creek reaches flood stage at this gauge at 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 13.6 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge VAWA1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.