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Flow report

West Virginia River Levels & Streamflow

As of Oct 5, 2026, West Virginia rivers are running at 148% of normal across 74 USGS gauges — the highest is 5,660 cfs on the Kanawha River At Charleston. Live discharge, gauge height, and percent-of-normal for every USGS streamgauge in West Virginia.

USGS gauges
74
State percent normal
148%
0%normal200%
Paddle runs
2
Updated
Oct 5
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Flow briefing · Oct 5, 2026

West Virginia river conditions today

Where rivers are running versus normal, what’s spiking and what’s coming — refreshed daily from USGS and NOAA.

Streamflow levels across West Virginia are currently 148% of normal, with the Kanawha River At Charleston reporting the highest discharge in the state at 5,660 cfs and a gauge stage of 18.46 ft.

Meanwhile, the Shavers Fork Below Bowden is seeing a spike today — up 93% since yesterday and currently running near peak.

Tap any gauge below for the full hydrograph, paired weather forecast, and historical context. Use the rivers panel to jump into West Virginia's named rivers.

West Virginia vs normal

How West Virginia’s rivers compare to normal

Every gauge placed by its own percent of normal, and three years of the statewide trend.

Where every gauge actually sits

One dot per West Virginia streamgauge, placed by its own percent of normal. The state average is a single line through all of it.

State average 148%
0% 50% 100% · normal 150% 200%+
Much below normalunder 50% Below normal50–90% Near normal90–110% Above normal110–150% Much above normalover 150%

Percent of normal compares today's discharge with the historical average for this calendar day. Tap any dot to open that gauge.

West Virginia streamflow, three water years

Statewide percent of normal, every day since Oct 2023. The dotted line is normal.

148% of normal today
+107pts vs this day last year (41%)
271of 366 days below normal, past year
1265% 3-year peak · Aug 2026 · above the axis
50% 100% normal 150% 200% 250%
Oct 2023 202420252026 Oct 5, 2026

799 daily readings from 74 reporting gauges. Percent of normal is today's statewide discharge against the historical average for the same calendar day — 100% is normal, not "good". The axis tops out at 250%: 43 readings above that — including the 1265% peak in Aug 2026 — are drawn along the top edge, so a few flood days cannot flatten three years of everything else. The line breaks in 2 places where the record skips more than five days — those are gaps in reporting, not readings of zero.

West Virginia flow report

74 gauges
Streamgage Streamflow Gage height Water temp Air temp Elevation Watershed
Kanawha River At Charleston, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03198000
5,640 cfs 18.12 ft · 70°F 566 ft Lower Kanawha
Kanawha River At Kanawha Falls, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03193000
4,890 cfs 3.65 ft 68°F 66°F 622 ft Upper Kanawha
Gauley River Above Belva, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03192000
2,700 cfs 4.03 ft · 68°F 675 ft Gauley
New River At Thurmond, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03185400
2,400 cfs 3.32 ft 69°F 68°F 1,041 ft Lower New
Tygart Valley River At Colfax, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03057000
1,840 cfs 5.70 ft 68°F 66°F 868 ft Tygart Valley
Tygart Valley R At Tygart Dam Nr Grafton, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03056000
1,710 cfs 6.92 ft 69°F 65°F 969 ft Tygart Valley
Cheat River At Albright, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03070260
1,080 cfs 11.50 ft 64°F 64°F 1,203 ft Cheat
West Fork River At Enterprise, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03061000
948 cfs 3.89 ft 66°F 66°F 872 ft West Fork
Potomac River At Shepherdstown, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01618000
936 cfs 1.80 ft · 71°F 283 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Tygart Valley River At Philippi, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03054500
829 cfs 4.42 ft 64°F 65°F 1,287 ft Tygart Valley
Cheat River Near Parsons, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03069500
810 cfs 3.72 ft 60°F 65°F 1,593 ft Cheat
Elk River At Queen Shoals, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03197000
577 cfs 4.86 ft · 69°F 609 ft Elk
Shenandoah River At Millville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01636500
534 cfs 1.42 ft 61°F 71°F 298 ft Shenandoah
Little Kanawha River At Palestine, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03155000
484 cfs 14.62 ft 67°F 69°F 605 ft Little Kanawha
Gauley River Near Craigsville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03189100
448 cfs 11.01 ft 62°F 65°F 1,881 ft Gauley
North Branch Potomac River At Luke, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01598500
367 cfs 1.85 ft · 67°F 952 ft North Branch Potomac
Elk River Below Webster Springs, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03194700
333 cfs 4.37 ft 63°F 63°F 1,019 ft Elk
Buckhannon River At Hall, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03053500
322 cfs 5.05 ft · 64°F 1,374 ft Tygart Valley
Tygart Valley River At Belington, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03051000
316 cfs 3.29 ft · 64°F 1,693 ft Tygart Valley
North Branch Potomac River At Barnum, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01595800
292 cfs 3.13 ft 56°F 65°F 1,168 ft North Branch Potomac
Tug Fork At Kermit, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03214500
292 cfs 2.42 ft · 71°F 579 ft Tug
Dry Fork At Hendricks, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03065000
291 cfs 2.18 ft · 64°F 1,706 ft Cheat
So. Branch Potomac River Nr Petersburg, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01606500
274 cfs 4.31 ft · 69°F 970 ft South Branch Potomac
Greenbrier River At Buckeye, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03182500
271 cfs 2.58 ft · 68°F 2,089 ft Greenbrier
Greenbrier River At Alderson, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03183500
251 cfs 2.54 ft 66°F 70°F 1,534 ft Greenbrier
Greenbrier River At Hilldale, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03184000
249 cfs 1.01 ft · 69°F 1,394 ft Greenbrier
W.F. River At Butcherville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03058500
229 cfs 2.19 ft · 67°F 996 ft West Fork
Shavers Fork Below Bowden, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03068800
225 cfs 4.42 ft · 59°F 2,122 ft Cheat
Coal River At Tornado, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03200500
222 cfs 9.57 ft 67°F 71°F 579 ft Coal
Bluestone River Near Pipestem, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03179000
219 cfs 3.19 ft 64°F 69°F 1,529 ft Middle New
South Branch Potomac River Near Springfield, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01608500
204 cfs 1.27 ft 66°F 69°F 570 ft South Branch Potomac
West Fork R Bl Stonewall Jackson Dam Nr Weston, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03058000
186 cfs 9.02 ft 69°F 67°F 1,021 ft West Fork
Big Coal River At Ashford, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03198500
185 cfs 2.13 ft · 70°F 619 ft Coal
Guyandotte River At Logan, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03203600
162 cfs 4.68 ft · 70°F 646 ft Upper Guyandotte
Tygart Valley River Near Dailey, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03050000
160 cfs 1.74 ft · 64°F 1,944 ft Tygart Valley
Buckhannon River At Alton, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03052120
158 cfs 5.56 ft · 63°F 1,785 ft Tygart Valley
Middle Fork River At Audra, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03052000
157 cfs 2.61 ft · 63°F 1,678 ft Tygart Valley
Greenbrier River At Durbin, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03180500
131 cfs 1.50 ft 57°F 62°F 2,729 ft Greenbrier
Meadow River At Nallen, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03190000
120 cfs 3.87 ft · 64°F 1,880 ft Gauley
Guyandotte River Near Baileysville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03202400
116 cfs 3.16 ft · 70°F 1,139 ft Upper Guyandotte
N F South Br Potomac R At Cabins, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01606000
107 cfs 4.44 ft · 65°F 1,053 ft South Branch Potomac
Williams River At Dyer, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03186500
105 cfs 1.66 ft · 62°F 2,198 ft Gauley
Wheeling Creek At Elm Grove, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03112000
97 cfs 2.42 ft · 68°F 668 ft Upper Ohio-Wheeling
L Kanawha River Nr Wildcat, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03151400
96 cfs 4.68 ft · 67°F 866 ft Little Kanawha
Blackwater R At Davis, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03066000
87 cfs 1.92 ft 58°F 58°F 3,071 ft Cheat
Cranberry River Near Richwood, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03187500
85 cfs 2.68 ft 60°F 62°F 2,138 ft Gauley
Cacapon River Near Great Cacapon, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01611500
81 cfs 1.45 ft 66°F 69°F 466 ft Cacapon-Town
Middle Island Creek At Little, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03114500
79 cfs 2.53 ft 65°F 68°F 634 ft Little Muskingum-Middle Island
Shavers Fork Nr Cheat Bridge, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03067510
75 cfs 4.76 ft 57°F 56°F 3,542 ft Cheat
Tug Fork At Welch, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03212750
70 cfs 3.05 ft · 70°F 1,283 ft Tug
Big Sandy Creek At Rockville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03070500
67 cfs 3.88 ft · 63°F 1,338 ft Cheat
Dry Fork At Beartown, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03212980
65 cfs 2.90 ft · 72°F 1,076 ft Tug
Opequon Creek Near Martinsburg, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01616500
58 cfs 1.71 ft · 71°F 361 ft Conococheague-Opequon
W.Fork Little Kanawha River At Rocksdale, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03154000
55 cfs 6.03 ft · 68°F 673 ft Little Kanawha
Three Fork Creek Nr Grafton, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03056250
42 cfs 2.98 ft · 65°F 1,004 ft Tygart Valley
South Branch Potomac River At Franklin, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01605500
39 cfs 1.67 ft · 68°F 1,697 ft South Branch Potomac
Pocatalico River At Sissonville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03201000
35 cfs 2.41 ft · 70°F 613 ft Lower Kanawha
Buffalo Creek At Barrackville, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03061500
34 cfs 2.21 ft · 66°F 903 ft Upper Monongahela
So Fk South Branch Potomac R Nr Moorefield, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01608000
29 cfs 2.74 ft · 70°F 864 ft South Branch Potomac
Clear Fork At Whitesville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03198350
23 cfs 12.05 ft · 71°F 842 ft Coal
Deckers Creek At Morgantown, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03062500
21 cfs · · 66°F 806 ft Upper Monongahela
Kings Creek At Weirton, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03110830
18 cfs 1.30 ft · 66°F 685 ft Upper Ohio
So Fk So Br Potomac R At Brandywine, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01607500
16 cfs 1.44 ft · 68°F 1,558 ft South Branch Potomac
Clear Fork At Clear Fork, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03202750
16 cfs 1.77 ft · 72°F 1,140 ft Upper Guyandotte
Abram Creek At Oakmont, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01595300
15 cfs 2.76 ft · 63°F 1,846 ft North Branch Potomac
Peters Creek Near Lockwood, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03191500
14 cfs 5.20 ft · 68°F 1,073 ft Gauley
Piney Creek At Raleigh, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03185000
14 cfs 1.86 ft · 66°F 2,104 ft Lower New
Patterson Creek Near Headsville, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01604500
13 cfs 3.11 ft · 70°F 623 ft North Branch Potomac
Back Creek Near Jones Springs, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01614000
10 cfs 1.70 ft · 70°F 436 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Panther Creek Near Panther, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03213500
6 cfs 2.76 ft · 73°F 1,060 ft Tug
Hurricane Creek At Hurricane, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 03201405
3 cfs 4.97 ft · 70°F 630 ft Lower Kanawha
Tuscarora Creek Above Martinsburg, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 01617000
3 cfs 2.22 ft · 71°F 456 ft Conococheague-Opequon
East Fork Twelvepole Creek Near Dunlow, Wv
11 hours ago · USGS 03206600
2 cfs 3.44 ft · 69°F 719 ft Twelvepole
Waites Run Near Wardensville, Wv
12 hours ago · USGS 01610400
2 cfs 3.30 ft 61°F 67°F 1,258 ft Cacapon-Town
Whitewater & paddle

West Virginia river runs

Paddleable river sections in West Virginia keyed to USGS gauges, with live streamflow and whitewater class.

River run Status Streamflow Air temp Class
Bluestone Dam To Sandstone · · 60°F III- TO IV-
Upper Gauley - Summersville Dam To Mason Branch · · 51°F IV TO V
Flow report FAQ

About West Virginia streamflow

What are river levels like in West Virginia right now?

As of October 5, 2026, West Virginia rivers are running at 148% of normal across 74 USGS streamgauges, and the Kanawha River At Charleston is reporting the highest discharge at 5,660 cfs. The full sortable gauge table is below.

Which West Virginia river is running highest right now?

As of October 5, 2026, the highest discharge in West Virginia is 5,660 cfs on the Kanawha River At Charleston. See the sortable gauge table for the full statewide ranking.

Are West Virginia rivers high or low right now?

Compare the statewide percent-of-normal on this page: above 100% means West Virginia rivers are running higher than the seasonal average for the date, below 100% means lower (a dry spell or drought). Each gauge also shows its own percent of median.

Where does the West Virginia streamflow data come from?

The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System. USGS streamgauges report continuously (every 15 minutes) and the data is the canonical real-time record for U.S. rivers. Snoflo pulls the latest readings and joins them to a 7-day NOAA weather forecast for each station.

What is cfs?

Cubic feet per second — the standard unit for streamflow. One cfs is about 7.5 gallons per second. Small creeks run at single-digit cfs; the Mississippi at hundreds of thousands.

What does Gauge Height mean?

The water level at the gauge in feet above the reference datum. Used together with discharge to track river state. Flood stage and runnable levels are typically expressed in gauge height (e.g., "flood at 16 ft").

How fresh is the West Virginia data?

USGS streamgauges report every 15 minutes; Snoflo re-pulls throughout the day. The AI briefing regenerates daily.

Can I get a flow alert for a West Virginia gauge?

Yes. Save any USGS gauge as a favorite in the Snoflo iOS app, set a discharge or stage threshold (e.g. "alert me when discharge crosses 2,000 cfs"), and you'll get a push the moment it crosses.

Is this a substitute for an NWS flood warning?

No. Snoflo is informational. For flood life-safety decisions always follow guidance from your local NWS forecast office and state emergency management. Snoflo data is one input among several.