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James River (VA) at Sewell's Point (IN MLLW)

Highest listed crest 8.02 ftFlood stage 4.5 ft89 crests since 1933

The James River (VA) at Sewell's Point (IN MLLW) crested at major flood stage 11 times among the 89 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1933 to 2026. The highest, 8.02 ft on August 23, 1933, was major flooding, 3.52 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
8.02 ft
August 23, 1933
Flood stage
4.5 ft
Major flooding from 6.5 ft
Crests at major
11
9th of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest
September 25, 2026
6.00 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Norfolk city
Near Norfolk (5.0 mi), Portsmouth (6.2 mi), Hampton (7.2 mi)
Identifiers
NWS SWPV2
No USGS station

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 Sewell's Point (IN MLLW)
Action stage4.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)4.560Feb 1, 2026Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage5.518Sep 25, 2026Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage6.511Oct 4, 2015Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

89 crests from 1933 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the James River (VA) at Sewell's Point (IN MLLW), 1933 to 2026 456789ft Flood stage 4.5 ftMajor 6.5 ft Aug 23, 1933: 8.02 ft, major floodingSep 16, 1933: 6.12 ft, moderate floodingSep 18, 1936: 6.72 ft, major floodingApr 11, 1956: 6.32 ft, moderate floodingSep 27, 1956: 5.92 ft, moderate floodingSep 12, 1960: 5.92 ft, moderate floodingMar 7, 1962: 7.22 ft, major floodingApr 27, 1978: 6.41 ft, moderate floodingJan 28, 1998: 6.07 ft, moderate floodingFeb 5, 1998: 6.60 ft, major floodingSep 16, 1999: 5.97 ft, moderate floodingSep 18, 2003: 7.89 ft, major floodingOct 7, 2006: 6.53 ft, major floodingNov 22, 2006: 6.77 ft, major floodingNov 12, 2009: 7.74 ft, major floodingDec 19, 2009: 6.18 ft, moderate floodingAug 27, 2011: 7.55 ft, major floodingOct 29, 2011: 5.34 ft, minor floodingOct 29, 2012: 6.81 ft, major floodingFeb 8, 2013: 4.62 ft, minor floodingMar 6, 2013: 5.47 ft, minor floodingSep 26, 2015: 5.24 ft, minor floodingOct 4, 2015: 6.50 ft, major floodingJan 23, 2016: 5.29 ft, minor floodingFeb 9, 2016: 4.93 ft, minor floodingMay 5, 2016: 5.13 ft, minor floodingSep 3, 2016: 6.16 ft, moderate floodingSep 29, 2016: 4.95 ft, minor floodingOct 9, 2016: 5.86 ft, moderate floodingJan 24, 2017: 4.91 ft, minor floodingJul 29, 2017: 4.59 ft, minor floodingAug 29, 2017: 5.23 ft, minor floodingSep 19, 2017: 5.23 ft, minor floodingNov 8, 2017: 4.90 ft, minor floodingMar 4, 2018: 4.73 ft, minor floodingMar 20, 2018: 4.96 ft, minor floodingJun 11, 2018: 4.68 ft, minor floodingSep 9, 2018: 5.16 ft, minor floodingSep 13, 2018: 4.71 ft, minor floodingOct 11, 2018: 4.68 ft, minor floodingDec 9, 2018: 4.56 ft, minor floodingAug 26, 2019: 4.94 ft, minor floodingSep 6, 2019: 5.87 ft, moderate floodingSep 19, 2019: 4.57 ft, minor floodingOct 11, 2019: 5.38 ft, minor floodingOct 28, 2019: 4.60 ft, minor floodingNov 17, 2019: 5.35 ft, minor floodingMar 25, 2020: 4.50 ft, minor floodingApr 1, 2020: 5.45 ft, minor floodingApr 9, 2020: 4.56 ft, minor floodingMay 6, 2020: 4.53 ft, minor floodingMay 19, 2020: 4.94 ft, minor floodingJun 16, 2020: 4.56 ft, minor floodingAug 16, 2020: 4.64 ft, minor floodingSep 21, 2020: 5.11 ft, minor floodingOct 17, 2020: 4.65 ft, minor floodingMar 19, 2021: 4.60 ft, minor floodingMay 30, 2021: 5.45 ft, minor floodingOct 10, 2021: 5.15 ft, minor floodingNov 7, 2021: 5.29 ft, minor floodingJan 3, 2022: 6.28 ft, moderate floodingMay 10, 2022: 5.52 ft, moderate floodingSep 8, 2022: 4.97 ft, minor floodingSep 30, 2022: 5.46 ft, minor floodingJun 3, 2023: 4.67 ft, minor floodingJun 21, 2023: 4.75 ft, minor floodingAug 31, 2023: 5.21 ft, minor floodingSep 23, 2023: 5.74 ft, moderate floodingSep 27, 2023: 5.28 ft, minor floodingOct 15, 2023: 4.97 ft, minor floodingNov 1, 2023: 4.62 ft, minor floodingNov 25, 2023: 4.66 ft, minor floodingFeb 7, 2024: 4.89 ft, minor floodingFeb 13, 2024: 4.76 ft, minor floodingMar 10, 2024: 4.83 ft, minor floodingMar 26, 2024: 4.58 ft, minor floodingMay 11, 2024: 5.11 ft, minor floodingSep 22, 2024: 5.14 ft, minor floodingOct 1, 2024: 4.74 ft, minor floodingNov 15, 2024: 5.46 ft, minor floodingMay 21, 2025: 4.51 ft, minor floodingAug 21, 2025: 5.53 ft, moderate floodingSep 10, 2025: 4.99 ft, minor floodingSep 16, 2025: 5.58 ft, moderate floodingOct 1, 2025: 4.94 ft, minor floodingOct 12, 2025: 6.18 ft, moderate floodingOct 28, 2025: 5.34 ft, minor floodingFeb 1, 2026: 4.50 ft, minor floodingSep 25, 2026: 6.00 ft, moderate flooding Highest, 8.02 ft, Aug 23, 1933 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, James River (VA) at Sewell's Point (IN MLLW) 1930s: 3 1940s: 0 1950s: 2 1960s: 2 1970s: 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 3 2000s: 5 2010s: 31 2020s: 42 42 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 89 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, James River (VA) at Sewell's Point (IN MLLW)
1Aug 23, 19338.02+3.52Major—
2Sep 18, 20037.89+3.39Major—
3Nov 12, 20097.74+3.24Major—
4Aug 27, 20117.55+3.05Major—
5Mar 7, 19627.22+2.72Major—
6Oct 29, 20126.81+2.31Major—
7Nov 22, 20066.77+2.27Major—
8Sep 18, 19366.72+2.22Major—
9Feb 5, 19986.60+2.10Major—
10Oct 7, 20066.53+2.03Major—
11Oct 4, 20156.50+2.00Major—
12Apr 27, 19786.41+1.91Moderate—
13Apr 11, 19566.32+1.82Moderate—
14Jan 3, 20226.28+1.78Moderate—
15Dec 19, 20096.18+1.68Moderate—
16Oct 12, 20256.18+1.68Moderate—
17Sep 3, 20166.16+1.66Moderate—
18Sep 16, 19336.12+1.62Moderate—
19Jan 28, 19986.07+1.57Moderate—
20Sep 25, 20266.00+1.50Moderate—
21Sep 16, 19995.97+1.47Moderate—
22Sep 27, 19565.92+1.42Moderate—
23Sep 12, 19605.92+1.42Moderate—
24Sep 6, 20195.87+1.37Moderate—
25Oct 9, 20165.86+1.36Moderate—
26Sep 23, 20235.74+1.24Moderate—
27Sep 16, 20255.58+1.08Moderate—
28Aug 21, 20255.53+1.03Moderate—
29May 10, 20225.52+1.02Moderate—
30Mar 6, 20135.47+0.97Minor—
31Sep 30, 20225.46+0.96Minor—
32Nov 15, 20245.46+0.96Minor—
33Apr 1, 20205.45+0.95Minor—
34May 30, 20215.45+0.95Minor—
35Oct 11, 20195.38+0.88Minor—
36Nov 17, 20195.35+0.85Minor—
37Oct 29, 20115.34+0.84Minor—
38Oct 28, 20255.34+0.84Minor—
39Jan 23, 20165.29+0.79Minor—
40Nov 7, 20215.29+0.79Minor—
41Sep 27, 20235.28+0.78Minor—
42Sep 26, 20155.24+0.74Minor—
43Aug 29, 20175.23+0.73Minor—
44Sep 19, 20175.23+0.73Minor—
45Aug 31, 20235.21+0.71Minor—
46Sep 9, 20185.16+0.66Minor—
47Oct 10, 20215.15+0.65Minor—
48Sep 22, 20245.14+0.64Minor—
49May 5, 20165.13+0.63Minor—
50Sep 21, 20205.11+0.61Minor—

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.

September 18, 2003: 7.89 ft here, major flooding

November 12, 2009: 7.74 ft here, major flooding

March 7, 1962: 7.22 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
BuchananVA17.038.84 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) this gaugeVA4.58.02 ft, Aug 23, 193311

Other gauges in Norfolk city

Flood gauges in Norfolk city
Grandy Village (IN MLLW)5.06.57 ft, Oct 12, 20250
The Hague at Pedestrian Bridge4.56.87 ft, Oct 4, 20151
the Midtown Tunnel (in MLLW)5.06.73 ft, Jan 3, 20220
North Colley (IN MLLW)4.06.47 ft, Oct 12, 20252
East Beach Marina (IN MLLW)4.57.69 ft, Sep 18, 20032

Norfolk city: every hazard · River floods across the country · Virginia

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SWPV2, 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.