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North Fork Holston River at Saltville

Highest listed crest 15.46 ftFlood stage 10.0 ft74 crests since 1907

The North Fork Holston River at Saltville crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 74 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1907 to 2025. The highest, 15.46 ft on November 19, 2003, was major flooding, 5.46 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the North Fork Holston River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
15.46 ft
November 19, 2003; 17,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.0 ft
Major flooding from 14.0 ft
Crests at major
2
75th of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest
February 16, 2025
12.86 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Smyth County
Virginia

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, North Fork Holston River at Saltville
Action stage8.026Feb 1, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.017Apr 13, 2020Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage12.08Feb 16, 2025Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage14.02Nov 19, 2003Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

74 crests from 1907 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the North Fork Holston River at Saltville, 1907 to 2025 46810121416ft Flood stage 10.0 ftMajor 14.0 ft Jun 14, 1907: 13.00 ft, moderate flooding; 8,400 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1908: 12.10 ft, moderate flooding; 7,400 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1920: 9.27 ft, action stage; 4,480 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1922: 8.90 ft, action stage; 4,160 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1924: 11.00 ft, minor flooding; 5,840 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1925: 9.00 ft, action stage; 4,310 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1926: 9.20 ft, action stage; 4,490 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 1926: 12.00 ft, moderate flooding; 6,700 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 1927: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 2,640 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1929: 8.10 ft, action stage; 3,520 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1931: 10.10 ft, minor flooding; 5,440 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1932: 9.40 ft, action stage; 4,750 cubic feet per secondDec 28, 1932: 9.90 ft, action stage; 5,240 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1934: 8.70 ft, action stage; 4,120 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1935: 7.49 ft, below flood stage; 7,990 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1936: 6.50 ft, below flood stage; 6,290 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1937: 5.46 ft, below flood stage; 4,650 cubic feet per secondOct 28, 1937: 6.08 ft, below flood stage; 5,660 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1939: 4.12 ft, below flood stage; 2,530 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1940: 6.23 ft, below flood stage; 5,840 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1941: 5.58 ft, below flood stage; 4,790 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 1944: 10.15 ft, minor flooding; 13,100 cubic feet per secondJan 8, 1946: 10.53 ft, minor floodingMar 16, 1955: 9.42 ft, action stage; 10,300 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1956: 9.05 ft, action stage; 9,560 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1957: 13.20 ft, moderate flooding; 16,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1961: 11.15 ft, minor floodingMar 12, 1963: 12.15 ft, moderate floodingDec 31, 1969: 10.37 ft, minor floodingDec 10, 1972: 11.98 ft, minor floodingMar 14, 1975: 10.68 ft, minor flooding; 11,100 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1975: 10.00 ft, minor flooding; 10,050 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1977: 12.98 ft, moderate flooding; 14,900 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1977: 13.57 ft, moderate flooding; 15,900 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1979: 10.04 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1982: 8.34 ft, action stage; 6,470 cubic feet per secondNov 29, 1982: 5.44 ft, below flood stage; 3,070 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1984: 10.51 ft, minor flooding; 10,100 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1993: 7.58 ft, below flood stage; 5,580 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1993: 9.74 ft, action stage; 8,770 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1994: 9.58 ft, action stage; 8,510 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1994: 9.83 ft, action stage; 8,910 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1995: 9.47 ft, action stage; 8,330 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1996: 9.76 ft, action stageJan 27, 1996: 8.70 ft, action stageMar 4, 1997: 8.64 ft, action stageMar 21, 1998: 7.97 ft, below flood stageApr 17, 1998: 8.31 ft, action stageJul 9, 2001: 7.37 ft, below flood stage; 5,300 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 2001: 11.80 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 2002: 14.83 ft, major flooding; 18,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 2003: 10.47 ft, minor floodingFeb 22, 2003: 11.11 ft, minor flooding; 9,970 cubic feet per secondNov 19, 2003: 15.46 ft, major flooding; 17,100 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 2005: 4.25 ft, below flood stage; 2,070 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 2006: 5.17 ft, below flood stage; 2,850 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2007: 4.79 ft, below flood stage; 2,520 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2008: 8.88 ft, action stage; 6,910 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 2009: 5.87 ft, below flood stage; 3,570 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 2009: 8.69 ft, action stage; 7,620 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 2011: 7.48 ft, below flood stage; 5,280 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2012: 9.33 ft, action stage; 7,540 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 2013: 10.07 ft, minor flooding; 8,530 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 2015: 7.82 ft, below flood stage; 5,670 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 2015: 6.69 ft, below flood stage; 4,410 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2017: 9.52 ft, action stage; 8,192 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 2018: 7.71 ft, below flood stage; 5,810 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2020: 11.37 ft, minor flooding; 10,600 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2020: 11.95 ft, minor flooding; 11,500 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2022: 7.84 ft, below flood stage; 6,510 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2023: 8.71 ft, action stage; 7,640 cubic feet per secondSep 28, 2024: 9.22 ft, action stage; 8,280 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2025: 8.01 ft, action stage; 6,815 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2025: 12.86 ft, moderate flooding; 13,283 cubic feet per second Highest, 15.46 ft, Nov 19, 2003 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, North Fork Holston River at Saltville 1900s: 2 1910s: 0 1920s: 2 1930s: 1 1940s: 2 1950s: 1 1960s: 3 1970s: 6 6 1980s: 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 5 2010s: 1 2020s: 3 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 74 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, North Fork Holston River at Saltville
1Nov 19, 200315.46+5.46Major17,100
2Mar 18, 200214.83+4.83Major18,900
3Nov 6, 197713.57+3.57Moderate15,900
4Jan 29, 195713.20+3.20Moderate16,500
5Jun 14, 190713.00+3.00Moderate8,400
6Apr 5, 197712.98+2.98Moderate14,900
7Feb 16, 202512.86+2.86Moderate13,283
8Mar 12, 196312.15+2.15Moderate—
9Apr 2, 190812.10+2.10Moderate7,400
10Dec 21, 192612.00+2.00Moderate6,700
11Dec 10, 197211.98+1.98Minor—
12Apr 13, 202011.95+1.95Minor11,500
13Jul 30, 200111.80+1.80Minor12,400
14Feb 7, 202011.37+1.37Minor10,600
15Feb 25, 196111.15+1.15Minor—
16Feb 22, 200311.11+1.11Minor9,970
17Aug 30, 192411.00+1.00Minor5,840
18Mar 14, 197510.68+0.68Minor11,100
19Jan 8, 194610.53+0.53Minor—
20May 7, 198410.51+0.51Minor10,100
21Feb 15, 200310.47+0.47Minor—
22Dec 31, 196910.37+0.37Minor—
23Feb 18, 194410.15+0.15Minor13,100
24Apr 4, 193110.10+0.10Minor5,440
25Jan 31, 201310.07+0.07Minor8,530
26Jan 21, 197910.04+0.04Minor10,100
27Mar 30, 197510.000.00Minor10,050
28Dec 28, 19329.90−0.10Action5,240
29Mar 28, 19949.83−0.17Action8,910
30Jan 19, 19969.76−0.24Action—
31Mar 24, 19939.74−0.26Action8,770
32Feb 12, 19949.58−0.42Action8,510
33Apr 24, 20179.52−0.48Action8,192
34Jan 15, 19959.47−0.53Action8,330
35Mar 16, 19559.42−0.58Action10,300
36Jan 30, 19329.40−0.60Action4,750
37Apr 27, 20129.33−0.67Action7,540
38Dec 15, 19209.27−0.73Action4,480
39Sep 28, 20249.22−0.78Action8,280
40Jan 18, 19269.20−0.80Action4,490
41Apr 16, 19569.05−0.95Action9,560
42Jan 11, 19259.00−1.00Action4,310
43Mar 15, 19228.90−1.10Action4,160
44Mar 5, 20088.88−1.12Action6,910
45Feb 17, 20238.71−1.29Action7,640
46Mar 3, 19348.70−1.30Action4,120
47Jan 27, 19968.70−1.30Action—
48Dec 9, 20098.69−1.31Action7,620
49Mar 4, 19978.64−1.36Action—
50Feb 3, 19828.34−1.66Action6,470

The worst floods along the North Fork Holston River

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

November 19, 2003: 15.46 ft here, major flooding

  • Gate CityVA · Nov 20, 2003 · 15.10 ft · Moderate

March 18, 2002: 14.83 ft here, major flooding

  • Gate CityVA · Mar 18, 2002 · 19.36 ft · Major

November 6, 1977: 13.57 ft here, moderate flooding

  • Gate CityVA · Nov 7, 1977 · 13.91 ft · Minor

Gauges on the North Fork Holston River

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

Flood gauges on the North Fork Holston River
Saltville this gaugeVA10.015.46 ft, Nov 19, 20032
Gate CityVA12.022.50 ft, Feb 1, 18624

Other gauges in Smyth County

Flood gauges in Smyth County
Seven Mile Ford8.010.75 ft, Jan 29, 19573
Riverside nr Chilhowie7.010.87 ft, Sep 27, 20240

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SALV2, 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.