Highest listed crest 19.15 ft November 5, 1985; 40,900 cubic feet per second
Flood stage 10.0 ft Major flooding from 18.0 ft
Crests at major 2 75th of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest February 18, 2023 10.40 ft, minor flooding Listed crests at the Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge, 1926 to 2025 5 10 15 20 ft Flood stage 10.0 ft Major 18.0 ft Jan 19, 1926: 9.10 ft, action stage; 7,610 cubic feet per second Dec 26, 1926: 10.00 ft, minor flooding; 9,240 cubic feet per second Oct 13, 1927: 9.70 ft, action stage; 8,680 cubic feet per second Feb 27, 1929: 9.00 ft, action stage; 7,440 cubic feet per second Nov 18, 1929: 9.88 ft, action stage; 9,050 cubic feet per second Feb 5, 1932: 9.90 ft, action stage; 9,050 cubic feet per second Mar 28, 1934: 8.80 ft, action stage; 7,100 cubic feet per second Feb 23, 1935: 13.76 ft, minor flooding; 17,700 cubic feet per second Mar 18, 1936: 18.62 ft, major flooding; 34,200 cubic feet per second Jan 21, 1937: 11.57 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per second Oct 20, 1937: 11.56 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per second Feb 4, 1939: 11.10 ft, minor flooding; 11,400 cubic feet per second May 31, 1940: 11.09 ft, minor flooding; 11,400 cubic feet per second Apr 6, 1941: 6.61 ft, below flood stage; 3,830 cubic feet per second May 17, 1942: 14.07 ft, minor flooding; 18,500 cubic feet per second Mar 14, 1943: 10.93 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per second May 7, 1944: 8.31 ft, action stage; 6,280 cubic feet per second Sep 19, 1945: 8.67 ft, action stage; 6,930 cubic feet per second Jan 8, 1946: 9.77 ft, action stage; 8,860 cubic feet per second Mar 15, 1947: 9.22 ft, action stage; 7,780 cubic feet per second Feb 15, 1948: 9.08 ft, action stage; 7,610 cubic feet per second Jun 18, 1949: 13.32 ft, minor flooding; 16,400 cubic feet per second Sep 13, 1950: 12.17 ft, minor flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per second Jun 13, 1951: 11.98 ft, minor flooding; 13,400 cubic feet per second Mar 12, 1952: 12.18 ft, minor flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per second Feb 22, 1953: 12.63 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per second Mar 2, 1954: 11.43 ft, minor flooding; 12,100 cubic feet per second Mar 6, 1954: 9.30 ft, action stage; 8,570 cubic feet per second Mar 6, 1955: 11.15 ft, minor flooding; 11,600 cubic feet per second Mar 15, 1956: 6.97 ft, below flood stage; 4,350 cubic feet per second Apr 6, 1957: 11.57 ft, minor flooding; 12,500 cubic feet per second Apr 1, 1958: 7.68 ft, below flood stage; 5,850 cubic feet per second Jun 3, 1959: 9.52 ft, action stage; 8,950 cubic feet per second Mar 31, 1960: 10.79 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per second Feb 26, 1961: 8.15 ft, action stage; 6,320 cubic feet per second Oct 21, 1961: 11.68 ft, minor flooding; 13,100 cubic feet per second Mar 13, 1963: 10.80 ft, minor flooding; 11,400 cubic feet per second Feb 28, 1965: 9.50 ft, action stage; 8,950 cubic feet per second Feb 14, 1966: 9.75 ft, action stage; 9,520 cubic feet per second Mar 9, 1967: 12.27 ft, minor flooding; 14,300 cubic feet per second Mar 13, 1968: 8.17 ft, action stage; 6,590 cubic feet per second Aug 20, 1969: 15.70 ft, moderate flooding; 25,000 cubic feet per second Dec 31, 1969: 10.22 ft, minor flooding; 10,300 cubic feet per second May 31, 1971: 11.85 ft, minor flooding; 13,800 cubic feet per second Jun 22, 1972: 12.63 ft, minor flooding; 15,700 cubic feet per second Oct 6, 1972: 11.43 ft, minor flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per second Dec 27, 1973: 13.85 ft, minor flooding; 19,000 cubic feet per second Mar 20, 1975: 11.41 ft, minor flooding; 12,800 cubic feet per second Jan 1, 1976: 10.53 ft, minor flooding; 11,000 cubic feet per second Apr 5, 1977: 12.40 ft, minor flooding; 15,100 cubic feet per second Jan 26, 1978: 12.34 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per second Feb 26, 1979: 10.72 ft, minor flooding; 11,300 cubic feet per second Apr 9, 1980: 10.66 ft, minor flooding; 11,200 cubic feet per second May 28, 1981: 8.01 ft, action stage; 6,060 cubic feet per second Jun 14, 1982: 12.00 ft, minor flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per second Apr 25, 1983: 9.51 ft, action stage; 8,780 cubic feet per second Feb 15, 1984: 11.69 ft, minor flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per second Nov 29, 1984: 7.86 ft, below flood stage; 5,810 cubic feet per second Nov 5, 1985: 19.15 ft, major flooding; 40,900 cubic feet per second Apr 16, 1987: 12.44 ft, minor flooding; 15,500 cubic feet per second Jan 20, 1988: 8.07 ft, action stage; 6,620 cubic feet per second May 6, 1989: 9.98 ft, action stage; 10,500 cubic feet per second Nov 16, 1989: 10.07 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per second Mar 4, 1991: 10.79 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 1992: 14.11 ft, minor flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per second Mar 5, 1993: 12.17 ft, minor flooding; 14,500 cubic feet per second May 8, 1994: 10.02 ft, minor flooding; 9,580 cubic feet per second Jun 23, 1995: 13.28 ft, minor flooding; 17,500 cubic feet per second Sep 7, 1996: 16.91 ft, moderate flooding; 30,100 cubic feet per second Jul 24, 1997: 12.37 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per second Jan 8, 1998: 14.39 ft, minor flooding; 20,800 cubic feet per second Jan 24, 1999: 7.55 ft, below flood stage; 5,210 cubic feet per second Feb 19, 2000: 7.88 ft, below flood stage; 5,710 cubic feet per second May 22, 2001: 9.69 ft, action stage; 8,910 cubic feet per second Apr 22, 2002: 10.26 ft, minor flooding; 10,200 cubic feet per second Sep 20, 2003: 12.68 ft, minor flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per second Nov 20, 2003: 12.52 ft, minor flooding; 16,600 cubic feet per second Mar 29, 2005: 7.45 ft, below flood stage; 5,610 cubic feet per second Jun 28, 2006: 13.49 ft, minor flooding; 19,288 cubic feet per second Nov 17, 2006: 12.64 ft, minor flooding; 16,992 cubic feet per second Mar 3, 2007: 12.40 ft, minor flooding; 16,319 cubic feet per second Dec 9, 2009: 9.62 ft, action stage; 9,610 cubic feet per second Jan 26, 2010: 13.42 ft, minor flooding; 19,160 cubic feet per second Dec 2, 2010: 9.74 ft, action stage; 9,500 cubic feet per second Mar 7, 2011: 10.32 ft, minor flooding; 11,139 cubic feet per second Mar 11, 2011: 9.77 ft, action stage; 9,943 cubic feet per second Apr 17, 2011: 10.87 ft, minor flooding; 12,440 cubic feet per second Apr 29, 2011: 12.72 ft, minor flooding; 17,160 cubic feet per second Dec 8, 2011: 11.32 ft, minor flooding; 13,500 cubic feet per second Jan 31, 2013: 11.31 ft, minor flooding; 13,520 cubic feet per second May 8, 2013: 10.05 ft, minor flooding; 10,550 cubic feet per second May 17, 2014: 9.53 ft, action stage; 9,460 cubic feet per second Feb 4, 2016: 9.02 ft, action stage; 8,420 cubic feet per second May 26, 2017: 9.74 ft, action stage; 9,776 cubic feet per second Feb 12, 2018: 8.44 ft, action stage; 7,386 cubic feet per second Apr 17, 2018: 13.80 ft, minor flooding; 19,600 cubic feet per second Dec 22, 2018: 10.19 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per second Jun 19, 2020: 11.90 ft, minor flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per second Feb 5, 2022: 9.05 ft, action stage; 8,470 cubic feet per second Feb 18, 2023: 10.40 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per second Jan 10, 2024: 8.87 ft, action stage; 8,150 cubic feet per second Apr 13, 2024: 9.93 ft, action stage; 10,100 cubic feet per second Feb 1, 2025: 8.18 ft, action stage; 6,940 cubic feet per second Feb 7, 2025: 9.13 ft, action stage; 8,220 cubic feet per second Feb 16, 2025: 9.50 ft, action stage; 8,930 cubic feet per second Highest, 19.15 ft, Nov 5, 1985 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Crests at or above flood stage, by decade Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge 1920s: 1 1930s: 5 1940s: 4 1950s: 7 1960s: 6 1970s: 9 9 1980s: 6 1990s: 8 2000s: 6 2010s: 9 2020s: 2 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 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. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable. 05 Other gauges in Alleghany County Alleghany County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Virginia
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge COWV2, 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.