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James River (VA) at Buchanan

Highest listed crest 38.84 ftFlood stage 17.0 ft117 crests since 1900

The James River (VA) at Buchanan crested at major flood stage 5 times among the 117 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1900 to 2025. The highest, 38.84 ft on November 5, 1985, was major flooding, 21.84 feet above flood stage. 6 other gauges on the James River (VA) crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
38.84 ft
November 5, 1985; 179,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
17.0 ft
Major flooding from 26.0 ft
Crests at major
5
32nd of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest
February 17, 2025
22.71 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Botetourt County
Virginia

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, James River (VA) at Buchanan
Action stage11.040Feb 7, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)17.055Jun 18, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage21.016Feb 17, 2025Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage26.05Jan 20, 1996Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

117 crests from 1900 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the James River (VA) at Buchanan, 1900 to 2025 10203040ft Flood stage 17.0 ftMajor 26.0 ft Nov 26, 1900: 21.40 ft, moderate flooding; 59,800 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1902: 25.00 ft, moderate flooding; 76,000 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1903: 17.50 ft, minor flooding; 43,800 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1905: 15.40 ft, action stage; 36,800 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1907: 17.00 ft, minor flooding; 41,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 1908: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 49,800 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1909: 15.00 ft, action stage; 35,500 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1910: 16.00 ft, action stage; 38,800 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1912: 16.50 ft, action stage; 39,900 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1913: 31.00 ft, major flooding; 105,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 1915: 20.00 ft, minor flooding; 56,100 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1917: 17.70 ft, minor flooding; 44,600 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1918: 17.30 ft, minor flooding; 43,000 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1919: 18.50 ft, minor flooding; 47,800 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1924: 21.50 ft, moderate flooding; 60,000 cubic feet per secondDec 26, 1926: 16.00 ft, action stage; 38,000 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1928: 16.53 ft, action stage; 39,000 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 1929: 16.50 ft, action stage; 39,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1932: 15.30 ft, action stage; 35,000 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1935: 23.82 ft, moderate flooding; 70,400 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1936: 26.80 ft, major flooding; 84,100 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1937: 17.12 ft, minor flooding; 41,400 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1937: 15.36 ft, action stage; 35,600 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1939: 15.63 ft, action stage; 36,200 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1940: 17.00 ft, minor flooding; 41,100 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1942: 19.56 ft, minor flooding; 52,300 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1943: 15.19 ft, action stage; 35,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1948: 16.25 ft, action stage; 38,800 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 1949: 20.18 ft, minor flooding; 54,800 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 1950: 18.95 ft, minor flooding; 49,800 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1952: 17.73 ft, minor flooding; 42,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1953: 19.15 ft, minor flooding; 48,000 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1954: 18.75 ft, minor flooding; 46,400 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1955: 19.36 ft, minor flooding; 48,800 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1957: 18.78 ft, minor flooding; 46,400 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1960: 18.45 ft, minor flooding; 44,700 cubic feet per secondOct 21, 1961: 17.68 ft, minor flooding; 42,000 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1963: 22.30 ft, moderate flooding; 61,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1965: 16.28 ft, action stage; 35,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1966: 16.44 ft, action stage; 36,000 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1967: 20.77 ft, minor flooding; 55,000 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1967: 17.36 ft, minor flooding; 40,000 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1969: 23.37 ft, moderate flooding; 65,500 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1970: 19.81 ft, minor flooding; 49,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1971: 18.90 ft, minor flooding; 45,900 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1971: 19.07 ft, minor flooding; 46,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1972: 18.52 ft, minor flooding; 44,400 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1972: 30.49 ft, major flooding; 111,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1973: 18.16 ft, minor flooding; 42,900 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1973: 19.23 ft, minor flooding; 47,300 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1973: 20.38 ft, minor flooding; 52,900 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 1973: 24.17 ft, moderate flooding; 73,400 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1974: 16.31 ft, action stage; 35,500 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1975: 16.39 ft, action stage; 35,900 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1975: 17.93 ft, minor flooding; 42,000 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1976: 16.02 ft, action stage; 34,400 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1976: 17.00 ft, minor flooding; 38,300 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1977: 22.81 ft, moderate flooding; 66,000 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1978: 22.31 ft, moderate flooding; 63,200 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1978: 18.87 ft, minor flooding; 45,800 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1978: 18.72 ft, minor flooding; 45,200 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 1978: 16.64 ft, action stage; 36,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1979: 19.91 ft, minor flooding; 50,600 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 1979: 16.86 ft, action stage; 37,700 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1980: 18.29 ft, minor flooding; 43,500 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1982: 18.37 ft, minor flooding; 43,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1984: 19.10 ft, minor flooding; 46,700 cubic feet per secondNov 5, 1985: 38.84 ft, major flooding; 179,000 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1986: 24.81 ft, moderate flooding; 76,100 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 1992: 23.64 ft, moderate flooding; 69,900 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1993: 20.66 ft, minor floodingMar 24, 1993: 18.20 ft, minor floodingMay 4, 1993: 15.00 ft, action stage; 36,000 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1995: 22.67 ft, moderate flooding; 64,653 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1995: 19.00 ft, minor flooding; 49,800 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1996: 29.26 ft, major flooding; 103,433 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 1996: 15.50 ft, action stage; 38,000 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1996: 18.59 ft, minor flooding; 44,748 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 1997: 16.50 ft, action stage; 40,400 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1998: 19.95 ft, minor flooding; 51,024 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1998: 18.87 ft, minor flooding; 46,011 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1999: 19.50 ft, minor flooding; 51,900 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2000: 12.44 ft, action stage; 21,000 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2001: 12.96 ft, action stage; 22,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2003: 24.03 ft, moderate flooding; 72,000 cubic feet per secondSep 29, 2004: 25.66 ft, moderate flooding; 61,200 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2005: 14.41 ft, action stage; 25,200 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2006: 21.98 ft, moderate flooding; 48,300 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2007: 17.85 ft, minor flooding; 35,100 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 2008: 12.67 ft, action stage; 20,600 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2009: 10.05 ft, below flood stage; 13,900 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 2010: 20.19 ft, minor flooding; 42,460 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2011: 15.94 ft, action stage; 29,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2013: 17.49 ft, minor flooding; 34,070 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 2013: 19.57 ft, minor flooding; 40,410 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2015: 16.60 ft, action stage; 31,400 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2016: 20.33 ft, minor flooding; 42,900 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 2017: 15.24 ft, action stage; 27,500 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2017: 17.43 ft, minor flooding; 33,800 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2018: 18.07 ft, minor flooding; 35,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2019: 17.95 ft, minor flooding; 35,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2020: 17.39 ft, minor flooding; 33,726 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2020: 17.14 ft, minor flooding; 33,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2020: 19.56 ft, minor flooding; 40,400 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2020: 19.21 ft, minor flooding; 39,300 cubic feet per secondNov 13, 2020: 13.79 ft, action stage; 23,537 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 2021: 11.20 ft, action stage; 17,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 2022: 11.71 ft, action stage; 18,200 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2022: 11.40 ft, action stage; 17,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 2023: 13.38 ft, action stage; 22,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2023: 14.00 ft, action stage; 24,500 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 2024: 15.18 ft, action stage; 27,800 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2024: 12.22 ft, action stage; 19,500 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 2024: 15.20 ft, action stage; 27,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2025: 13.72 ft, action stage; 23,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2025: 11.75 ft, action stage; 18,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2025: 22.71 ft, moderate flooding; 51,300 cubic feet per second Highest, 38.84 ft, Nov 5, 1985 1900192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, James River (VA) at Buchanan 1900s: 5 1910s: 5 1920s: 1 1930s: 3 1940s: 3 1950s: 6 1960s: 6 1970s: 16 16 1980s: 5 1990s: 10 2000s: 4 2010s: 7 2020s: 5 1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 117 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, James River (VA) at Buchanan
1Nov 5, 198538.84+21.84Major179,000
2Mar 27, 191331.00+14.00Major105,000
3Jun 22, 197230.49+13.49Major111,000
4Jan 20, 199629.26+12.26Major103,433
5Mar 18, 193626.80+9.80Major84,100
6Sep 29, 200425.66+8.66Moderate61,200
7Mar 1, 190225.00+8.00Moderate76,000
8Apr 16, 198624.81+7.81Moderate76,100
9Dec 27, 197324.17+7.17Moderate73,400
10Feb 23, 200324.03+7.03Moderate72,000
11Jan 23, 193523.82+6.82Moderate70,400
12Apr 22, 199223.64+6.64Moderate69,900
13Aug 20, 196923.37+6.37Moderate65,500
14Apr 6, 197722.81+5.81Moderate66,000
15Feb 17, 202522.71+5.71Moderate51,300
16Jan 16, 199522.67+5.67Moderate64,653
17Jan 27, 197822.31+5.31Moderate63,200
18Mar 13, 196322.30+5.30Moderate61,800
19Jun 28, 200621.98+4.98Moderate48,300
20May 12, 192421.50+4.50Moderate60,000
21Nov 26, 190021.40+4.40Moderate59,800
22Mar 8, 196720.77+3.77Minor55,000
23Mar 5, 199320.66+3.66Minor—
24May 29, 197320.38+3.38Minor52,900
25Jun 24, 201620.33+3.33Minor42,900
26Jan 26, 201020.19+3.19Minor42,460
27Apr 14, 194920.18+3.18Minor54,800
28Feb 2, 191520.00+3.00Minor56,100
29Jan 9, 199819.95+2.95Minor51,024
30Feb 25, 197919.91+2.91Minor50,600
31Jan 1, 197019.81+2.81Minor49,500
32May 8, 201319.57+2.57Minor40,410
33May 17, 194219.56+2.56Minor52,300
34May 22, 202019.56+2.56Minor40,400
35Mar 5, 199919.50+2.50Minor51,900
36May 7, 195519.36+2.36Minor48,800
37Mar 18, 197319.23+2.23Minor47,300
38Jun 18, 202019.21+2.21Minor39,300
39Feb 22, 195319.15+2.15Minor48,000
40Feb 14, 198419.10+2.10Minor46,700
41May 31, 197119.07+2.07Minor46,600
42Feb 16, 190819.00+2.00Minor49,800
43Apr 9, 199519.00+2.00Minor49,800
44Dec 8, 195018.95+1.95Minor49,800
45Feb 14, 197118.90+1.90Minor45,900
46Mar 15, 197818.87+1.87Minor45,800
47Mar 21, 199818.87+1.87Minor46,011
48Apr 6, 195718.78+1.78Minor46,400
49Mar 2, 195418.75+1.75Minor46,400
50Mar 27, 197818.72+1.72Minor45,200

The worst floods along the James River (VA)

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

November 5, 1985: 38.84 ft here, major flooding

March 27, 1913: 31.00 ft here, major flooding

June 22, 1972: 30.49 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the James River (VA)

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the James River (VA)
Bent CreekVA16.030.76 ft, Nov 5, 19855
Bremo BluffVA21.024.29 ft, Feb 17, 20250
Buchanan this gaugeVA17.038.84 ft, Nov 5, 19855
CartersvilleVA20.032.60 ft, Nov 6, 19855
Fort Monroe (IN MLLW)VA4.56.42 ft, Oct 4, 20150
Holcomb RockVA22.042.15 ft, Nov 5, 19857
Jamestown/Scotland Ferry (IN MLLW)VA4.06.27 ft, Oct 4, 20158
Lick RunVA16.033.00 ft, Nov 24, 18777
Richmond LocksVA8.023.75 ft, Sep 8, 19960
Richmond-WesthamVA12.028.62 ft, Jun 23, 19725
ScottsvilleVA20.034.02 ft, Jun 22, 197212
Sewell's Point (IN MLLW)VA4.58.02 ft, Aug 23, 193311

Other gauges in Botetourt County

Flood gauges in Botetourt County
Catawba7.019.19 ft, Nov 4, 19851
Howell Mills8.010.11 ft, Jun 16, 20250
Parr12.024.76 ft, Nov 4, 19853
Lick Run16.033.00 ft, Nov 24, 18777
Daleville11.013.36 ft, Nov 4, 19850

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BNNV2, 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.