Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

Experimental National Water Center Products: Flood Inundation Mapping services are now available for 10% of the U.S. population. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information. The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via the URL above, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Blacksburg, VA

Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (EDT) Datum: NAVD88 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 72 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Forecasts for the James River (VA) at Buchanan are issued routinely year-round. Vertical Datum updated from NGVD29 to NAVD88 by gauge owner.

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 26 Moderate Flood Stage: 21 Flood Stage: 17 Action Stage: 11 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 38.84 ft on 11/05/1985 (2) 31.00 ft on 03/27/1913 (3) 30.49 ft on 06/22/1972 (4) 29.26 ft on 01/20/1996 (5) 26.80 ft on 03/18/1936 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 14.00 ft on 02/18/2023 (2) 13.38 ft on 02/13/2023 (3) 11.40 ft on 05/28/2022 (4) 11.71 ft on 02/05/2022 (5) 11.20 ft on 09/23/2021 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 1.26 ft on 09/14/1981 (2) 1.44 ft on 09/08/1966 (3) 1.46 ft on 01/09/1950 (4) 1.53 ft on 08/29/1964 (5) 1.55 ft on 09/30/1968 Show More Low Water Records For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

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22	Additional buildings upstream of gage, and farmland flooding begins in vicinity of the gage.
20	Farmlands and residential basements of buildings upstream (right bank) become flooded.
17	Right bank above gage and flats above town on left bank are inundated. Mostly agricultural lands affected.
16	Route 43 (Parkway Drive) is closed as water starts to reach the road.
6	Stages above 6 feet are considered too high for all but expert boaters.
4	Caution is suggested for James River boaters..between 4 and 6 feet.
2.4	Stages between 2.4 and 4 feet are considered ideal for boating activities.
2	Below this stage the river may be too low for boating activities.
Photos (1) Upstream of James River from Rte. 11 bridge - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (2) Downstream of James River from Rte. 11 bridge - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (3) Upstream right bank; town of Buchanan, VA - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (4) Route 43 in Buchanan closed by flooding from James R. - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (5) Lowe St. in Buchanan flooded - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (6) USGS gauge house on left bank of James - June 24, 2016; stage ~19.5 ft. (7) USGS gauge house on left bank of James - June 24, 2016

About This Location

Latitude: 37.530556° N, Longitude: 79.679167° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 17 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 802.1 819.1 Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 802.9 ft 819.9 ft Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Buchanan

Additional Information

Potential River Levels Used to Estimate the Chance of Flooding and the Range of Possible River Levels 10 Day (HEFS) 10 Day (NAEFS) 10 Day (GEFS) Note: Use the official hydrograph at the top of this web page for river levels within the next 48 hours. Click individual graphics to enlarge.

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Ohio Basin Water Resources Outlook Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management Drought Information Precipitation Frequency Data Standardized Precipitation Index (WRCC) Snow Information Ensemble River Forecasts (MMEFS)

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Blacksburg Weather Forecast Office 1750 Forecast Drive Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 553-8900 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:30 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities