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Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron

Highest listed crest 46.41 ftFlood stage 36.3 ft87 crests since 1940

The Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron crested above flood stage 33 times among the 87 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1940 to 2025. The highest, 46.41 ft on September 17, 1999, was minor flooding, 10.11 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Blackwater River (VA) crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
46.41 ft
September 17, 1999; 12,300 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
36.3 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
33 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
July 19, 2025
36.85 ft, minor flooding
Location
Surry County
Virginia

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron
Action stage35.324Feb 17, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)36.333Jul 19, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat

Every listed crest

87 crests from 1940 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron, 1940 to 2025 3035404550ft Flood stage 36.3 ft Aug 20, 1940: 42.40 ft, minor flooding; 10,000 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1942: 33.64 ft, below flood stage; 560 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1943: 35.00 ft, below flood stage; 1,580 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1944: 35.14 ft, below flood stage; 1,790 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 1945: 38.20 ft, minor flooding; 4,710 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1945: 36.04 ft, action stage; 2,580 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1947: 33.92 ft, below flood stage; 845 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1948: 35.50 ft, action stage; 2,130 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1949: 35.75 ft, action stage; 2,220 cubic feet per secondSep 12, 1950: 35.42 ft, action stage; 2,040 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1951: 33.86 ft, below flood stage; 842 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1952: 35.86 ft, action stage; 2,490 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1953: 34.38 ft, below flood stage; 1,220 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1954: 34.96 ft, below flood stage; 1,660 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 1955: 35.71 ft, action stage; 2,310 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1956: 34.29 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1957: 35.50 ft, action stage; 2,130 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 1958: 36.79 ft, minor flooding; 3,300 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1959: 35.54 ft, action stage; 2,190 cubic feet per secondSep 14, 1960: 37.69 ft, minor flooding; 3,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1961: 35.40 ft, action stage; 2,310 cubic feet per secondOct 22, 1961: 37.23 ft, minor flooding; 3,700 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1963: 38.40 ft, minor flooding; 5,070 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1964: 34.06 ft, below flood stage; 1,020 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1965: 34.05 ft, below flood stage; 1,020 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1966: 33.52 ft, below flood stage; 682 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 1967: 34.53 ft, below flood stage; 1,540 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1968: 35.08 ft, below flood stage; 2,090 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1969: 36.23 ft, action stage; 3,370 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1970: 34.94 ft, below flood stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1971: 34.40 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondOct 26, 1971: 35.55 ft, action stage; 2,250 cubic feet per secondOct 8, 1972: 36.92 ft, minor flooding; 4,230 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1974: 33.88 ft, below flood stage; 839 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1975: 37.70 ft, minor flooding; 4,900 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1976: 35.56 ft, action stage; 2,540 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1977: 34.33 ft, below flood stage; 1,360 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1978: 36.37 ft, minor flooding; 3,470 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1979: 37.56 ft, minor flooding; 4,790 cubic feet per secondNov 15, 1979: 36.19 ft, action stage; 2,810 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1981: 34.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,370 cubic feet per secondAug 13, 1982: 36.01 ft, action stage; 2,650 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1983: 36.20 ft, action stage; 2,880 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1984: 36.29 ft, action stage; 2,990 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 1985: 38.41 ft, minor flooding; 5,850 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1985: 35.12 ft, below flood stage; 1,730 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1987: 36.93 ft, minor flooding; 3,820 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1988: 34.73 ft, below flood stage; 1,380 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 1989: 35.81 ft, action stage; 2,440 cubic feet per secondAug 8, 1990: 38.06 ft, minor flooding; 5,360 cubic feet per secondJan 14, 1991: 35.19 ft, below flood stage; 1,880 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1992: 34.61 ft, below flood stage; 1,400 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1993: 35.93 ft, action stage; 2,560 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1994: 37.42 ft, minor flooding; 4,440 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 1995: 35.28 ft, below flood stage; 1,950 cubic feet per secondSep 12, 1996: 35.11 ft, below flood stage; 1,810 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1996: 35.91 ft, action stage; 2,580 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 1998: 37.11 ft, minor flooding; 4,030 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 1999: 46.41 ft, minor flooding; 12,300 cubic feet per secondSep 5, 2000: 39.42 ft, minor flooding; 5,150 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2001: 33.95 ft, below flood stage; 812 cubic feet per secondApr 3, 2002: 33.33 ft, below flood stage; 578 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 2003: 39.87 ft, minor flooding; 5,460 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 2004: 36.32 ft, minor flooding; 2,490 cubic feet per secondDec 12, 2004: 35.57 ft, action stage; 1,660 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 2006: 38.57 ft, minor flooding; 4,380 cubic feet per secondAug 29, 2011: 39.37 ft, minor flooding; 4,190 cubic feet per secondSep 9, 2011: 39.66 ft, minor flooding; 4,460 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 2013: 36.88 ft, minor flooding; 2,190 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2013: 39.88 ft, minor flooding; 4,660 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2014: 35.14 ft, below flood stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2015: 36.79 ft, minor flooding; 2,130 cubic feet per secondDec 28, 2015: 34.93 ft, below flood stage; 1,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2016: 35.91 ft, action stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 2016: 36.37 ft, minor flooding; 1,850 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2018: 34.96 ft, below flood stage; 1,020 cubic feet per secondNov 17, 2018: 35.75 ft, action stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 2019: 36.01 ft, action stage; 2,360 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2019: 35.20 ft, below flood stage; 1,580 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 2020: 38.67 ft, minor flooding; 4,690 cubic feet per secondSep 19, 2020: 38.30 ft, minor flooding; 4,310 cubic feet per secondDec 26, 2020: 36.37 ft, minor flooding; 2,650 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2021: 36.62 ft, minor flooding; 2,880 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 2024: 36.31 ft, minor flooding; 2,591 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2025: 35.78 ft, action stageMar 19, 2025: 37.26 ft, minor flooding; 3,374 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 2025: 36.85 ft, minor flooding; 3,329 cubic feet per second Highest, 46.41 ft, Sep 17, 1999 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron 1940s: 2 1950s: 1 1960s: 3 1970s: 4 1980s: 2 1990s: 4 2000s: 4 2010s: 6 2020s: 7 7 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 87 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Blackwater River (VA) at Dendron
1Sep 17, 199946.41+10.11Minor12,300
2Aug 20, 194042.40+6.10Minor10,000
3Jun 9, 201339.88+3.58Minor4,660
4Sep 20, 200339.87+3.57Minor5,460
5Sep 9, 201139.66+3.36Minor4,460
6Sep 5, 200039.42+3.12Minor5,150
7Aug 29, 201139.37+3.07Minor4,190
8Aug 16, 202038.67+2.37Minor4,690
9Sep 2, 200638.57+2.27Minor4,380
10Sep 28, 198538.41+2.11Minor5,850
11Jun 5, 196338.40+2.10Minor5,070
12Sep 19, 202038.30+2.00Minor4,310
13Jul 21, 194538.20+1.90Minor4,710
14Aug 8, 199038.06+1.76Minor5,360
15Mar 21, 197537.70+1.40Minor4,900
16Sep 14, 196037.69+1.39Minor3,800
17Feb 28, 197937.56+1.26Minor4,790
18Mar 4, 199437.42+1.12Minor4,440
19Mar 19, 202537.26+0.96Minor3,374
20Oct 22, 196137.23+0.93Minor3,700
21Feb 6, 199837.11+0.81Minor4,030
22Apr 20, 198736.93+0.63Minor3,820
23Oct 8, 197236.92+0.62Minor4,230
24Jan 19, 201336.88+0.58Minor2,190
25Jul 19, 202536.85+0.55Minor3,329
26Aug 5, 195836.79+0.49Minor3,300
27Jul 1, 201536.79+0.49Minor2,130
28Feb 20, 202136.62+0.32Minor2,880
29Jan 21, 197836.37+0.07Minor3,470
30Oct 10, 201636.37+0.07Minor1,850
31Dec 26, 202036.37+0.07Minor2,650
32Sep 20, 200436.32+0.02Minor2,490
33Mar 8, 202436.31+0.01Minor2,591
34Mar 8, 198436.29−0.01Action2,990
35Aug 7, 196936.23−0.07Action3,370
36Apr 19, 198336.20−0.10Action2,880
37Nov 15, 197936.19−0.11Action2,810
38Dec 31, 194536.04−0.26Action2,580
39Aug 13, 198236.01−0.29Action2,650
40Feb 25, 201936.01−0.29Action2,360
41Mar 8, 199335.93−0.37Action2,560
42Oct 10, 199635.91−0.39Action2,580
43Feb 6, 201635.91−0.39Action1,600
44Jan 30, 195235.86−0.44Action2,490
45May 4, 198935.81−0.49Action2,440
46Feb 17, 202535.78−0.52Action—
47Aug 16, 194935.75−0.55Action2,220
48Nov 17, 201835.75−0.55Action1,600
49Aug 19, 195535.71−0.59Action2,310
50Dec 12, 200435.57−0.73Action1,660

The worst floods along the Blackwater River (VA)

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Blackwater River (VA) that crested above flood stage within a week.

September 17, 1999: 46.41 ft here, minor flooding

  • FranklinVA · Sep 18, 1999 · 25.11 ft · Major · its highest

August 20, 1940: 42.40 ft here, minor flooding

  • FranklinVA · Aug 19, 1940 · 20.84 ft · Major

June 9, 2013: 39.88 ft here, minor flooding

  • ZUNIVA · Jun 11, 2013 · 25.04 ft · Minor
  • FranklinVA · Jun 12, 2013 · 13.07 ft · Minor
  • FRANKLINVA · Jun 13, 2013 · 6.39 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Blackwater River (VA)

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Blackwater River (VA)
Dendron this gaugeVA36.346.41 ft, Sep 17, 19990
ZUNIVA23.025.14 ft, Sep 20, 20200
FranklinVA10.825.11 ft, Sep 18, 19993
FRANKLINVA5.010.78 ft, Oct 10, 20160

Surry County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Virginia

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge DNDV2, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.