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Flow report

West Virginia River Levels & Streamflow

As of Sep 17, 2026, West Virginia rivers are running at 169% of normal across 74 USGS gauges — the highest is 5,570 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
169%
Paddle runs
2
Updated
Sep 17
Open the West Virginia flow layer on the map Every USGS streamgauge filtered to West Virginia.
Open the map →
September
17
2026
Flow briefing

Streamflow levels across West Virginia are currently 169% of normal, with the Kanawha River At Charleston reporting the highest discharge in the state at 5,570 cfs and a gauge stage of 17.89 ft.

Meanwhile, the Greenbrier River At Hilldale is seeing a spike today — up 70% 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 at a glance

State-wide streamflow overview

The West Virginia flow picture in four data points -- where the state sits versus historical norms, what's flowing hardest, and what's spiking fastest.

Percent of normal

169%

100% is the historical norm. Below 70% indicates drought; above 130% can flag elevated flood risk.

Highest discharge

Kanawha River At Charleston 5,570 cfs

Gauge stage 17.89 ft

Biggest 24h spike

Greenbrier River At Hilldale +70%

Now 397 cfs

Network coverage

Gauges + rivers tracked 74 + 0

USGS gauges feeding 0 named rivers in West Virginia.

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 169%
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 Sep 2023. The dotted line is normal.

169% of normal today
+125pts vs this day last year (44%)
289of 366 days below normal, past year
1265% 3-year peak · Aug 2026 · above the axis
50% 100% normal 150% 200% 250%
Sep 2023 202420252026 Sep 17, 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%: 33 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.

Full streamgauge inventory

West Virginia USGS streamgauges

Every USGS gauge Snoflo tracks in West Virginia. Sortable, quickly filterable. Numeric columns heat-mapped from light to deep. Tap any gauge for its full hydrograph and forecast.

74 gauges
Streamgage Streamflow Gage height Water temp Air temp Elevation Watershed
Kanawha River At Charleston, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03198000
3,920 cfs 18.26 ft · 90°F 566 ft Lower Kanawha
Tygart Valley River At Colfax, Wv
6 hours ago · USGS 03057000
3,690 cfs 7.16 ft 73°F 82°F 868 ft Tygart Valley
Tygart Valley R At Tygart Dam Nr Grafton, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03056000
3,630 cfs 8.63 ft 72°F 82°F 969 ft Tygart Valley
Kanawha River At Kanawha Falls, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03193000
2,740 cfs 2.72 ft 79°F 82°F 622 ft Upper Kanawha
New River At Thurmond, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03185400
1,820 cfs 2.73 ft 32°F 84°F 1,041 ft Lower New
Little Kanawha River At Palestine, Wv
6 hours ago · USGS 03155000
1,640 cfs 15.80 ft 73°F 88°F 605 ft Little Kanawha
West Fork River At Enterprise, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03061000
1,360 cfs 4.93 ft 72°F 82°F 872 ft West Fork
W.F. River At Butcherville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03058500
1,030 cfs 4.04 ft · 84°F 996 ft West Fork
West Fork R Bl Stonewall Jackson Dam Nr Weston, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03058000
1,020 cfs 11.21 ft 73°F 85°F 1,021 ft West Fork
Cheat River At Albright, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03070260
867 cfs 11.21 ft 73°F 82°F 1,203 ft Cheat
Potomac River At Shepherdstown, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01618000
860 cfs 1.75 ft · 89°F 283 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Tygart Valley River At Philippi, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03054500
787 cfs 4.38 ft 71°F 82°F 1,287 ft Tygart Valley
Elk River At Queen Shoals, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03197000
519 cfs 4.75 ft · 88°F 609 ft Elk
Gauley River Above Belva, Wv
6 hours ago · USGS 03192000
492 cfs 1.80 ft · 86°F 675 ft Gauley
Shenandoah River At Millville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01636500
483 cfs 1.34 ft 61°F 90°F 298 ft Shenandoah
Cheat River Near Parsons, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03069500
479 cfs 3.19 ft 70°F 84°F 1,593 ft Cheat
North Branch Potomac River At Luke, Wv
6 hours ago · USGS 01598500
320 cfs 1.74 ft · 88°F 952 ft North Branch Potomac
Buckhannon River At Hall, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03053500
317 cfs 5.04 ft · 82°F 1,374 ft Tygart Valley
Guyandotte River At Logan, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03203600
305 cfs 5.05 ft · 89°F 646 ft Upper Guyandotte
Greenbrier River At Hilldale, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03184000
291 cfs 1.09 ft · 85°F 1,394 ft Greenbrier
Tug Fork At Kermit, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03214500
270 cfs 2.32 ft · 90°F 579 ft Tug
Coal River At Tornado, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03200500
264 cfs 9.74 ft 76°F 92°F 579 ft Coal
North Branch Potomac River At Barnum, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01595800
260 cfs 3.05 ft 57°F 85°F 1,168 ft North Branch Potomac
Gauley River Near Craigsville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03189100
246 cfs 10.60 ft 71°F 81°F 1,881 ft Gauley
Greenbrier River At Alderson, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03183500
238 cfs 2.52 ft 75°F 85°F 1,534 ft Greenbrier
Big Coal River At Ashford, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03198500
233 cfs 2.36 ft · 89°F 619 ft Coal
Tygart Valley River At Belington, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03051000
225 cfs 3.09 ft · 83°F 1,693 ft Tygart Valley
Middle Island Creek At Little, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03114500
207 cfs 3.00 ft 73°F 85°F 634 ft Little Muskingum-Middle Island
Wheeling Creek At Elm Grove, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03112000
192 cfs 2.66 ft · 84°F 668 ft Upper Ohio-Wheeling
Middle Fork River At Audra, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03052000
175 cfs 2.68 ft · 82°F 1,678 ft Tygart Valley
Dry Fork At Hendricks, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03065000
174 cfs 1.93 ft · 82°F 1,706 ft Cheat
South Branch Potomac River Near Springfield, Wv
7 hours ago · USGS 01608500
157 cfs 1.13 ft 77°F 89°F 570 ft South Branch Potomac
Big Sandy Creek At Rockville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03070500
136 cfs 4.38 ft · 81°F 1,338 ft Cheat
Greenbrier River At Buckeye, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03182500
125 cfs 2.27 ft · 84°F 2,089 ft Greenbrier
Guyandotte River Near Baileysville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03202400
104 cfs 3.10 ft · 86°F 1,139 ft Upper Guyandotte
So. Branch Potomac River Nr Petersburg, Wv
8 hours ago · USGS 01606500
103 cfs 3.76 ft · 89°F 970 ft South Branch Potomac
Elk River Below Webster Springs, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03194700
103 cfs 3.59 ft 74°F 80°F 1,019 ft Elk
Three Fork Creek Nr Grafton, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03056250
94 cfs 3.50 ft · 82°F 1,004 ft Tygart Valley
Cacapon River Near Great Cacapon, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01611500
83 cfs 1.46 ft 74°F 88°F 466 ft Cacapon-Town
L Kanawha River Nr Wildcat, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03151400
82 cfs 4.60 ft · 85°F 866 ft Little Kanawha
Shavers Fork Below Bowden, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03068800
81 cfs 3.79 ft · 79°F 2,122 ft Cheat
Buckhannon River At Alton, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03052120
74 cfs 5.17 ft · 82°F 1,785 ft Tygart Valley
Blackwater R At Davis, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03066000
67 cfs 1.79 ft 67°F 77°F 3,071 ft Cheat
Pocatalico River At Sissonville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03201000
64 cfs 2.71 ft · 90°F 613 ft Lower Kanawha
W.Fork Little Kanawha River At Rocksdale, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03154000
63 cfs 6.08 ft · 87°F 673 ft Little Kanawha
Meadow River At Nallen, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03190000
62 cfs 3.47 ft · 81°F 1,880 ft Gauley
Tug Fork At Welch, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03212750
59 cfs 2.94 ft · 87°F 1,283 ft Tug
Williams River At Dyer, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03186500
59 cfs 1.37 ft · 78°F 2,198 ft Gauley
Kings Creek At Weirton, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03110830
57 cfs 1.62 ft · 83°F 685 ft Upper Ohio
Opequon Creek Near Martinsburg, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01616500
56 cfs 1.69 ft · 90°F 361 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Deckers Creek At Morgantown, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03062500
52 cfs · · 83°F 806 ft Upper Monongahela
Greenbrier River At Durbin, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03180500
50 cfs 1.05 ft 67°F 81°F 2,729 ft Greenbrier
Bluestone River Near Pipestem, Wv
6 hours ago · USGS 03179000
50 cfs 2.13 ft 73°F 84°F 1,529 ft Middle New
Tygart Valley River Near Dailey, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03050000
47 cfs 1.05 ft · 84°F 1,944 ft Tygart Valley
Buffalo Creek At Barrackville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03061500
47 cfs 2.33 ft · 83°F 903 ft Upper Monongahela
Cranberry River Near Richwood, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03187500
46 cfs 2.39 ft 66°F 78°F 2,138 ft Gauley
Dry Fork At Beartown, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03212980
43 cfs 2.67 ft · 88°F 1,076 ft Tug
South Branch Potomac River At Franklin, Wv
7 hours ago · USGS 01605500
27 cfs 1.55 ft · 87°F 1,697 ft South Branch Potomac
Clear Fork At Clear Fork, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03202750
27 cfs 1.91 ft · 88°F 1,140 ft Upper Guyandotte
N F South Br Potomac R At Cabins, Wv
8 hours ago · USGS 01606000
27 cfs 3.99 ft · 85°F 1,053 ft South Branch Potomac
Clear Fork At Whitesville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03198350
27 cfs 12.10 ft · 87°F 842 ft Coal
Shavers Fork Nr Cheat Bridge, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03067510
26 cfs 4.27 ft 65°F 75°F 3,542 ft Cheat
Peters Creek Near Lockwood, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03191500
18 cfs 5.14 ft · 86°F 1,073 ft Gauley
So Fk South Branch Potomac R Nr Moorefield, Wv
7 hours ago · USGS 01608000
17 cfs 2.61 ft · 91°F 864 ft South Branch Potomac
Patterson Creek Near Headsville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01604500
14 cfs 3.02 ft · 90°F 623 ft North Branch Potomac
Piney Creek At Raleigh, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03185000
14 cfs 1.79 ft · 84°F 2,104 ft Lower New
Back Creek Near Jones Springs, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01614000
13 cfs 1.64 ft · 89°F 436 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Abram Creek At Oakmont, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01595300
8 cfs 2.62 ft · 81°F 1,846 ft North Branch Potomac
So Fk So Br Potomac R At Brandywine, Wv
8 hours ago · USGS 01607500
6 cfs 1.23 ft · 88°F 1,558 ft South Branch Potomac
Tuscarora Creek Above Martinsburg, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01617000
3 cfs 2.25 ft · 89°F 456 ft Conococheague-Opequon
Panther Creek Near Panther, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03213500
3 cfs 2.46 ft · 89°F 1,060 ft Tug
East Fork Twelvepole Creek Near Dunlow, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03206600
2 cfs 3.40 ft · 87°F 719 ft Twelvepole
Waites Run Near Wardensville, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 01610400
1 cfs 3.26 ft 66°F 86°F 1,258 ft Cacapon-Town
Hurricane Creek At Hurricane, Wv
5 hours ago · USGS 03201405
1 cfs 4.87 ft · 92°F 630 ft Lower Kanawha
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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
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Flow report FAQ

About West Virginia streamflow

What are river levels like in West Virginia right now?

As of September 17, 2026, West Virginia rivers are running at 169% of normal across 74 USGS streamgauges, and the Kanawha River At Charleston is reporting the highest discharge at 5,570 cfs. The full sortable gauge table is below.

Which West Virginia river is running highest right now?

As of September 17, 2026, the highest discharge in West Virginia is 5,570 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.