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New River at Radford

Highest listed crest 35.96 ftFlood stage 14.0 ft54 crests since 1940

The New River at Radford crested at major flood stage 10 times among the 54 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1940 to 2024. The highest, 35.96 ft on August 14, 1940, was major flooding, 21.96 feet above flood stage. 5 other gauges on the New River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 5 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
35.96 ft
August 14, 1940; 218,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
14.0 ft
Major flooding from 20.0 ft
Crests at major
10
15th of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest
September 28, 2024
31.03 ft, major flooding
Location
Pulaski County
Near Radford (1.6 mi), Christiansburg (9.1 mi), Blacksburg (10.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, New River at Radford
Action stage12.06Apr 20, 1998The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)14.010Feb 7, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage16.014Nov 13, 2020Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage20.010Sep 28, 2024Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

54 crests from 1940 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the New River at Radford, 1940 to 2024 010203040ft Flood stage 14.0 ftMajor 20.0 ft Aug 14, 1940: 35.96 ft, major flooding; 218,000 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1945: 17.00 ft, moderate floodingDec 8, 1950: 16.86 ft, moderate floodingApr 6, 1957: 15.33 ft, minor flooding; 54,400 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1959: 18.64 ft, moderate flooding; 71,000 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1961: 13.95 ft, action stage; 48,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1966: 15.57 ft, minor flooding; 55,700 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1968: 7.58 ft, below flood stage; 21,700 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1972: 20.21 ft, major flooding; 80,600 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1973: 20.02 ft, major flooding; 79,300 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1976: 14.26 ft, minor flooding; 49,600 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1977: 16.46 ft, moderate flooding; 60,000 cubic feet per secondNov 7, 1977: 24.10 ft, major flooding; 108,000 cubic feet per secondSep 22, 1979: 15.23 ft, minor flooding; 53,900 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 1980: 12.42 ft, action stage; 41,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1982: 12.15 ft, action stage; 40,100 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1983: 13.79 ft, action stage; 47,700 cubic feet per secondNov 5, 1985: 13.60 ft, action stage; 46,800 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1987: 15.12 ft, minor flooding; 54,100 cubic feet per secondSep 23, 1989: 21.73 ft, major flooding; 92,600 cubic feet per secondNov 16, 1989: 11.79 ft, below flood stage; 38,600 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1991: 8.16 ft, below flood stage; 24,400 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1992: 18.81 ft, moderate flooding; 74,100 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1993: 18.24 ft, moderate flooding; 70,900 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1994: 16.12 ft, moderate flooding; 59,300 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1995: 24.04 ft, major flooding; 108,000 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1996: 19.81 ft, moderate floodingDec 2, 1996: 10.50 ft, below flood stage; 33,500 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 1998: 12.89 ft, action stage; 43,400 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2000: 5.13 ft, below flood stage; 13,600 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2001: 7.73 ft, below flood stage; 22,800 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2002: 10.25 ft, below flood stage; 32,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2003: 15.08 ft, minor flooding; 53,900 cubic feet per secondNov 20, 2003: 19.77 ft, moderate flooding; 80,000 cubic feet per secondSep 29, 2004: 14.94 ft, minor flooding; 53,228 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 2005: 9.28 ft, below flood stage; 28,700 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2006: 10.87 ft, below flood stage; 34,900 cubic feet per secondNov 16, 2007: 6.50 ft, below flood stage; 18,400 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 2010: 11.92 ft, below flood stage; 40,000 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2010: 11.62 ft, below flood stage; 37,495 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2011: 14.36 ft, minor flooding; 50,600 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 2013: 21.13 ft, major flooding; 89,300 cubic feet per secondApr 20, 2015: 16.16 ft, moderate flooding; 58,700 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2017: 16.78 ft, moderate flooding; 61,800 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 2018: 16.30 ft, moderate flooding; 59,400 cubic feet per secondOct 12, 2018: 23.83 ft, major flooding; 109,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2019: 15.79 ft, minor flooding; 57,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2020: 14.74 ft, minor flooding; 52,300 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2020: 16.48 ft, moderate flooding; 60,200 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2020: 21.71 ft, major flooding; 93,500 cubic feet per secondNov 13, 2020: 17.99 ft, moderate flooding; 68,500 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2023: 8.81 ft, below flood stage; 27,200 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 2024: 10.72 ft, below flood stage; 35,000 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 2024: 31.03 ft, major flooding; 167,000 cubic feet per second Highest, 35.96 ft, Aug 14, 1940 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, New River at Radford 1940s: 2 1950s: 3 1960s: 1 1970s: 6 1980s: 2 1990s: 5 2000s: 3 2010s: 7 7 2020s: 5 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 54 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, New River at Radford
1Aug 14, 194035.96+21.96Major218,000
2Sep 28, 202431.03+17.03Major167,000
3Nov 7, 197724.10+10.10Major108,000
4Jan 15, 199524.04+10.04Major108,000
5Oct 12, 201823.83+9.83Major109,000
6Sep 23, 198921.73+7.73Major92,600
7May 22, 202021.71+7.71Major93,500
8Jan 31, 201321.13+7.13Major89,300
9Jun 21, 197220.21+6.21Major80,600
10May 28, 197320.02+6.02Major79,300
11Jan 19, 199619.81+5.81Moderate—
12Nov 20, 200319.77+5.77Moderate80,000
13Jun 5, 199218.81+4.81Moderate74,100
14Oct 1, 195918.64+4.64Moderate71,000
15Mar 24, 199318.24+4.24Moderate70,900
16Nov 13, 202017.99+3.99Moderate68,500
17Sep 18, 194517.00+3.00Moderate—
18Dec 8, 195016.86+2.86Moderate—
19Apr 24, 201716.78+2.78Moderate61,800
20Apr 14, 202016.48+2.48Moderate60,200
21Apr 5, 197716.46+2.46Moderate60,000
22Sep 18, 201816.30+2.30Moderate59,400
23Apr 20, 201516.16+2.16Moderate58,700
24Aug 18, 199416.12+2.12Moderate59,300
25Feb 24, 201915.79+1.79Minor57,100
26Feb 14, 196615.57+1.57Minor55,700
27Apr 6, 195715.33+1.33Minor54,400
28Sep 22, 197915.23+1.23Minor53,900
29Mar 1, 198715.12+1.12Minor54,100
30Feb 23, 200315.08+1.08Minor53,900
31Sep 29, 200414.94+0.94Minor53,228
32Feb 7, 202014.74+0.74Minor52,300
33Mar 7, 201114.36+0.36Minor50,600
34Jun 21, 197614.26+0.26Minor49,600
35May 12, 196113.95−0.05Action48,400
36Apr 10, 198313.79−0.21Action47,700
37Nov 5, 198513.60−0.40Action46,800
38Apr 20, 199812.89−1.11Action43,400
39Apr 15, 198012.42−1.58Action41,300
40Feb 3, 198212.15−1.85Action40,100
41Jan 25, 201011.92−2.08Below flood stage40,000
42Nov 16, 198911.79−2.21Below flood stage38,600
43Mar 13, 201011.62−2.38Below flood stage37,495
44Jun 28, 200610.87−3.13Below flood stage34,900
45Jan 10, 202410.72−3.28Below flood stage35,000
46Dec 2, 199610.50−3.50Below flood stage33,500
47Mar 18, 200210.25−3.75Below flood stage32,500
48Mar 29, 20059.28−4.72Below flood stage28,700
49May 30, 20238.81−5.19Below flood stage27,200
50Mar 30, 19918.16−5.84Below flood stage24,400

The worst floods along the New River

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

August 14, 1940: 35.96 ft here, major flooding

  • IvanhoeVA · Aug 14, 1940 · 38.10 ft · Major · its highest
  • Glen LynVA · Aug 14, 1940 · 27.50 ft · Major · its highest
  • GalaxVA · Aug 14, 1940 · 25.70 ft · Major · its highest
  • AllisoniaVA · Aug 14, 1940 · 23.42 ft · Major · its highest
  • HintonWV · Aug 15, 1940 · 18.97 ft · Major · its highest

September 28, 2024: 31.03 ft here, major flooding

  • IvanhoeVA · Sep 28, 2024 · 33.08 ft · Major
  • Glen LynVA · Sep 28, 2024 · 24.33 ft · Major
  • AllisoniaVA · Sep 28, 2024 · 22.29 ft · Major
  • GalaxVA · Sep 28, 2024 · 21.26 ft · Major

November 7, 1977: 24.10 ft here, major flooding

  • IvanhoeVA · Nov 7, 1977 · 28.08 ft · Major
  • GalaxVA · Nov 6, 1977 · 18.59 ft · Major
  • Glen LynVA · Nov 7, 1977 · 18.12 ft · Major
  • AllisoniaVA · Nov 7, 1977 · 16.59 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the New River

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

Flood gauges on the New River
GalaxVA9.025.70 ft, Aug 14, 19404
IvanhoeVA16.038.10 ft, Aug 14, 19404
AllisoniaVA8.023.42 ft, Aug 14, 19402
Radford this gaugeVA14.035.96 ft, Aug 14, 194010
Glen LynVA15.027.50 ft, Aug 14, 19409
HintonWV15.018.97 ft, Aug 15, 19401
ThurmondWV19.020.35 ft, Jan 20, 19960

Other gauges in Pulaski County

Flood gauges in Pulaski County
Allisonia8.023.42 ft, Aug 14, 19402
Pulaski8.011.40 ft, Apr 13, 20200

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RDFV2, 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.