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Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg

Highest listed crest 25.90 ftFlood stage 13.0 ft63 crests since 1908

The Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 63 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1908 to 2024. The highest, 25.90 ft on October 16, 1942, was major flooding, 12.90 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Rappahannock River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 2 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
25.90 ft
October 16, 1942; 140,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
13.0 ft
Major flooding from 23.0 ft
Crests at major
2
75th of 242 gauges in Virginia
Most recent flood crest
January 10, 2024
13.04 ft, minor flooding
Location
Fredericksburg city
Near Fredericksburg (2.4 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg
Action stage10.040Apr 18, 2011The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)13.015Jan 10, 2024Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage16.06Jun 23, 2018Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage23.02Oct 16, 1942Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

63 crests from 1908 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg, 1908 to 2024 1015202530ft Flood stage 13.0 ftMajor 23.0 ft Jan 13, 1908: 10.00 ft, action stage; 30,100 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1912: 10.10 ft, action stage; 31,400 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1913: 10.50 ft, action stage; 33,600 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1915: 11.00 ft, action stage; 36,300 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1916: 11.20 ft, action stage; 37,400 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1918: 13.00 ft, minor flooding; 47,700 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 1924: 16.50 ft, moderate flooding; 66,900 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1924: 15.10 ft, minor flooding; 58,800 cubic feet per secondNov 17, 1926: 11.94 ft, action stage; 40,400 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 1928: 11.66 ft, action stage; 39,400 cubic feet per secondOct 23, 1929: 12.68 ft, action stage; 44,800 cubic feet per secondNov 10, 1932: 11.84 ft, action stage; 39,900 cubic feet per secondSep 17, 1934: 11.07 ft, action stage; 36,000 cubic feet per secondSep 6, 1935: 10.65 ft, action stage; 33,300 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1936: 12.33 ft, action stage; 42,600 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1937: 25.14 ft, major flooding; 134,000 cubic feet per secondOct 20, 1937: 11.90 ft, action stage; 40,800 cubic feet per secondOct 16, 1942: 25.90 ft, major flooding; 140,000 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1948: 11.34 ft, action stage; 37,400 cubic feet per secondDec 5, 1950: 12.16 ft, action stage; 42,800 cubic feet per secondNov 22, 1952: 11.12 ft, action stage; 36,300 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 1955: 17.00 ft, moderate flooding; 74,500 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1962: 10.31 ft, action stage; 31,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 1965: 10.55 ft, action stage; 33,600 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1967: 10.84 ft, action stage; 29,100 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 1968: 11.06 ft, action stage; 30,400 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1971: 10.81 ft, action stage; 29,000 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1972: 22.56 ft, moderate flooding; 107,000 cubic feet per secondOct 7, 1972: 12.50 ft, action stage; 39,000 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 1973: 10.99 ft, action stage; 29,900 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1975: 13.37 ft, minor flooding; 44,200 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1976: 11.03 ft, action stage; 29,800 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1976: 14.38 ft, minor flooding; 50,700 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1978: 13.44 ft, minor flooding; 44,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1979: 14.72 ft, minor flooding; 52,900 cubic feet per secondOct 2, 1979: 12.83 ft, action stage; 40,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1982: 10.20 ft, action stage; 25,500 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1983: 11.63 ft, action stage; 33,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1984: 14.79 ft, minor flooding; 53,000 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1985: 14.33 ft, minor flooding; 50,200 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 1987: 11.09 ft, action stage; 30,400 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1989: 15.03 ft, minor flooding; 54,600 cubic feet per secondOct 24, 1990: 10.27 ft, action stage; 25,900 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1992: 10.14 ft, action stage; 25,200 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1993: 15.54 ft, minor flooding; 57,800 cubic feet per secondNov 28, 1993: 13.22 ft, minor flooding; 43,100 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1995: 17.14 ft, moderate flooding; 68,600 cubic feet per secondSep 7, 1996: 17.97 ft, moderate flooding; 74,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 1998: 13.20 ft, minor flooding; 43,000 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1999: 11.97 ft, action stage; 35,600 cubic feet per secondSep 20, 2003: 12.53 ft, action stage; 38,300 cubic feet per secondDec 11, 2003: 12.69 ft, action stage; 39,100 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2005: 11.73 ft, action stage; 34,400 cubic feet per secondOct 9, 2005: 10.96 ft, action stage; 30,800 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2008: 11.10 ft, action stage; 31,500 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 2010: 11.81 ft, action stage; 36,700 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2011: 10.88 ft, action stage; 31,800 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2011: 10.77 ft, action stage; 31,250 cubic feet per secondApr 18, 2011: 11.27 ft, action stageMay 1, 2014: 15.43 ft, minor flooding; 57,280 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2014: 13.32 ft, minor flooding; 45,000 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2018: 17.55 ft, moderate flooding; 70,898 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 2024: 13.04 ft, minor flooding; 43,335 cubic feet per second Highest, 25.90 ft, Oct 16, 1942 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg 1900s: 0 1910s: 1 1920s: 2 1930s: 1 1940s: 1 1950s: 1 1960s: 0 1970s: 5 5 1980s: 3 1990s: 5 2000s: 0 2010s: 3 2020s: 1 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 63 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg
1Oct 16, 194225.90+12.90Major140,000
2Apr 26, 193725.14+12.14Major134,000
3Jun 22, 197222.56+9.56Moderate107,000
4Sep 7, 199617.97+4.97Moderate74,100
5Jun 23, 201817.55+4.55Moderate70,898
6Jun 28, 199517.14+4.14Moderate68,600
7Aug 19, 195517.00+4.00Moderate74,500
8Sep 13, 192416.50+3.50Moderate66,900
9Mar 5, 199315.54+2.54Minor57,800
10May 1, 201415.43+2.43Minor57,280
11Oct 1, 192415.10+2.10Minor58,800
12May 6, 198915.03+2.03Minor54,600
13Feb 15, 198414.79+1.79Minor53,000
14Feb 27, 197914.72+1.72Minor52,900
15Oct 10, 197614.38+1.38Minor50,700
16Nov 6, 198514.33+1.33Minor50,200
17Jan 27, 197813.44+0.44Minor44,700
18Mar 20, 197513.37+0.37Minor44,200
19May 17, 201413.32+0.32Minor45,000
20Nov 28, 199313.22+0.22Minor43,100
21Feb 5, 199813.20+0.20Minor43,000
22Jan 10, 202413.04+0.04Minor43,335
23Apr 10, 191813.000.00Minor47,700
24Oct 2, 197912.83−0.17Action40,900
25Dec 11, 200312.69−0.31Action39,100
26Oct 23, 192912.68−0.32Action44,800
27Sep 20, 200312.53−0.47Action38,300
28Oct 7, 197212.50−0.50Action39,000
29Mar 18, 193612.33−0.67Action42,600
30Dec 5, 195012.16−0.84Action42,800
31Oct 1, 199911.97−1.03Action35,600
32Nov 17, 192611.94−1.06Action40,400
33Oct 20, 193711.90−1.10Action40,800
34Nov 10, 193211.84−1.16Action39,900
35Jan 26, 201011.81−1.19Action36,700
36Jan 15, 200511.73−1.27Action34,400
37Aug 12, 192811.66−1.34Action39,400
38Apr 10, 198311.63−1.37Action33,500
39Dec 4, 194811.34−1.66Action37,400
40Apr 18, 201111.27−1.73Action—
41Jun 17, 191611.20−1.80Action37,400
42Nov 22, 195211.12−1.88Action36,300
43May 12, 200811.10−1.90Action31,500
44Nov 30, 198711.09−1.91Action30,400
45Sep 17, 193411.07−1.93Action36,000
46Jan 15, 196811.06−1.94Action30,400
47Jan 1, 197611.03−1.97Action29,800
48Jan 13, 191511.00−2.00Action36,300
49Dec 22, 197310.99−2.01Action29,900
50Oct 9, 200510.96−2.04Action30,800

The worst floods along the Rappahannock River

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

October 16, 1942: 25.90 ft here, major flooding

  • FredericksburgVA · Oct 16, 1942 · 42.60 ft · Major · its highest
  • RemingtonVA · Oct 16, 1942 · 30.00 ft · Major · its highest

April 26, 1937: 25.14 ft here, major flooding

June 22, 1972: 22.56 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Rappahannock River

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

Flood gauges on the Rappahannock River
Fredericksburg this gaugeVA13.025.90 ft, Oct 16, 19422
FredericksburgVA15.542.60 ft, Oct 16, 19424
RemingtonVA15.030.00 ft, Oct 16, 19423
Tappahannock (IN MLLW)VA3.04.20 ft, Oct 12, 20253

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FDBV2, 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.