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Bluestone River near Pipestem

Highest listed crest 17.25 ftFlood stage 12.0 ft81 crests since 1950

The Bluestone River near Pipestem crested above flood stage 27 times among the 81 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1950 to 2025. The highest, 17.25 ft on March 13, 2010, was moderate flooding, 5.25 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Bluestone River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
17.25 ft
March 13, 2010; 22,700 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
12.0 ft
Major flooding from 18.0 ft
Crests at major
0
27 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
February 16, 2025
17.00 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Summers County
West Virginia

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Bluestone River near Pipestem
Action stage11.015May 30, 2023The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)12.023Feb 1, 2025Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage15.04Feb 16, 2025Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage18.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

81 crests from 1950 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Bluestone River near Pipestem, 1950 to 2025 681012141618ft Flood stage 12.0 ftMajor 18.0 ft Dec 4, 1950: 9.46 ft, below flood stage; 5,020 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1952: 10.00 ft, below flood stage; 5,820 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1953: 10.66 ft, below flood stage; 7,080 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1954: 9.15 ft, below flood stage; 4,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1955: 13.86 ft, minor flooding; 14,900 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 1956: 11.12 ft, action stage; 7,840 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1957: 14.49 ft, minor flooding; 16,100 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1958: 11.40 ft, action stage; 9,020 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1959: 9.96 ft, below flood stage; 5,900 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1960: 9.68 ft, below flood stage; 5,420 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1961: 11.57 ft, action stage; 9,480 cubic feet per secondDec 18, 1961: 9.24 ft, below flood stage; 4,620 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1963: 14.00 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 1964: 9.56 ft, below flood stage; 5,220 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1965: 12.14 ft, minor flooding; 10,700 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1966: 10.93 ft, below flood stage; 7,950 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1967: 11.71 ft, action stage; 9,730 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1968: 9.60 ft, below flood stage; 5,260 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1969: 6.62 ft, below flood stage; 1,800 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1969: 12.88 ft, minor flooding; 12,400 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1971: 10.47 ft, below flood stage; 6,930 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1972: 12.17 ft, minor flooding; 10,800 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 1972: 11.20 ft, action stage; 8,560 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1974: 10.84 ft, below flood stage; 7,750 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1975: 12.64 ft, minor flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1976: 11.27 ft, action stage; 8,720 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1977: 15.82 ft, moderate flooding; 19,300 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1978: 12.40 ft, minor flooding; 11,300 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1979: 12.95 ft, minor flooding; 12,600 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1980: 9.02 ft, below flood stage; 4,330 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1981: 10.86 ft, below flood stage; 7,790 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1982: 11.13 ft, action stage; 8,400 cubic feet per secondApr 10, 1983: 8.41 ft, below flood stage; 3,590 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1984: 12.59 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 1985: 11.08 ft, action stage; 8,280 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1986: 9.36 ft, below flood stage; 4,880 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1987: 13.19 ft, minor flooding; 13,100 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1989: 10.59 ft, below flood stage; 7,200 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1990: 11.54 ft, action stage; 9,340 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1991: 10.37 ft, below flood stage; 6,710 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1992: 12.66 ft, minor flooding; 11,900 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1993: 13.32 ft, minor flooding; 13,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 1994: 10.45 ft, below flood stage; 6,890 cubic feet per secondJan 16, 1995: 10.95 ft, below flood stage; 7,990 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1996: 14.02 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1997: 10.82 ft, below flood stage; 7,700 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1998: 7.23 ft, below flood stage; 1,630 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 1998: 11.77 ft, action stage; 9,870 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1999: 9.01 ft, below flood stage; 4,320 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2000: 7.18 ft, below flood stage; 2,280 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2001: 13.15 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2002: 13.59 ft, minor flooding; 13,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 2003: 13.39 ft, minor flooding; 14,100 cubic feet per secondNov 10, 2003: 15.57 ft, moderate flooding; 18,700 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 2004: 9.14 ft, below flood stage; 4,510 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2006: 10.42 ft, below flood stage; 6,770 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2008: 11.78 ft, action stage; 9,581 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2009: 13.91 ft, minor flooding; 14,400 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 2009: 10.01 ft, below flood stage; 5,900 cubic feet per secondJan 25, 2010: 10.08 ft, below flood stage; 6,076 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2010: 17.25 ft, moderate flooding; 22,700 cubic feet per secondDec 8, 2011: 9.25 ft, below flood stage; 4,700 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 2012: 10.02 ft, below flood stage; 5,944 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2012: 10.31 ft, below flood stage; 6,580 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 2013: 12.36 ft, minor flooding; 10,792 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2015: 14.00 ft, minor flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 2016: 9.20 ft, below flood stage; 4,590 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 2017: 9.19 ft, below flood stage; 4,579 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2017: 10.82 ft, below flood stage; 7,190 cubic feet per secondFeb 11, 2018: 11.88 ft, action stage; 9,220 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2019: 11.87 ft, action stage; 9,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 6, 2020: 13.06 ft, minor flooding; 11,800 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2020: 10.55 ft, below flood stage; 6,720 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 2020: 10.42 ft, below flood stage; 6,500 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 2021: 12.04 ft, minor flooding; 9,550 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 2021: 11.52 ft, action stage; 8,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2023: 10.98 ft, below flood stage; 7,180 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2023: 11.16 ft, action stage; 7,490 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 2024: 8.91 ft, below flood stage; 4,180 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2025: 12.52 ft, minor flooding; 10,023 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 2025: 17.00 ft, moderate flooding; 21,391 cubic feet per second Highest, 17.25 ft, Mar 13, 2010 19501960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Bluestone River near Pipestem 1950s: 2 1960s: 3 1970s: 5 5 1980s: 2 1990s: 3 2000s: 5 2010s: 3 2020s: 4 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 81 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Bluestone River near Pipestem
1Mar 13, 201017.25+5.25Moderate22,700
2Feb 16, 202517.00+5.00Moderate21,391
3Apr 5, 197715.82+3.82Moderate19,300
4Nov 10, 200315.57+3.57Moderate18,700
5Jan 29, 195714.49+2.49Minor16,100
6May 16, 199614.02+2.02Minor15,000
7Mar 12, 196314.00+2.00Minor15,000
8Mar 5, 201514.00+2.00Minor15,000
9May 9, 200913.91+1.91Minor14,400
10Feb 28, 195513.86+1.86Minor14,900
11May 2, 200213.59+1.59Minor13,600
12Feb 22, 200313.39+1.39Minor14,100
13Mar 23, 199313.32+1.32Minor13,400
14Apr 24, 198713.19+1.19Minor13,100
15May 17, 200113.15+1.15Minor13,000
16Feb 6, 202013.06+1.06Minor11,800
17May 13, 197912.95+0.95Minor12,600
18Dec 31, 196912.88+0.88Minor12,400
19Jun 5, 199212.66+0.66Minor11,900
20Mar 14, 197512.64+0.64Minor11,900
21May 7, 198412.59+0.59Minor11,800
22Feb 1, 202512.52+0.52Minor10,023
23Apr 26, 197812.40+0.40Minor11,300
24Jan 31, 201312.36+0.36Minor10,792
25Feb 26, 197212.17+0.17Minor10,800
26Mar 26, 196512.14+0.14Minor10,700
27Jan 26, 202112.04+0.04Minor9,550
28Feb 11, 201811.88−0.12Action9,220
29Feb 24, 201911.87−0.13Action9,200
30Mar 5, 200811.78−0.22Action9,581
31Mar 21, 199811.77−0.23Action9,870
32Mar 7, 196711.71−0.29Action9,730
33Feb 25, 196111.57−0.43Action9,480
34Jan 1, 199011.54−0.46Action9,340
35Mar 1, 202111.52−0.48Action8,500
36Mar 31, 195811.40−0.60Action9,020
37Jan 1, 197611.27−0.73Action8,720
38Dec 10, 197211.20−0.80Action8,560
39May 30, 202311.16−0.84Action7,490
40Jun 13, 198211.13−0.87Action8,400
41Apr 16, 195611.12−0.88Action7,840
42Feb 1, 198511.08−0.92Action8,280
43Feb 17, 202310.98−1.02Below flood stage7,180
44Jan 16, 199510.95−1.05Below flood stage7,990
45May 2, 196610.93−1.07Below flood stage7,950
46Jun 7, 198110.86−1.14Below flood stage7,790
47Jan 11, 197410.84−1.16Below flood stage7,750
48Mar 3, 199710.82−1.18Below flood stage7,700
49Apr 24, 201710.82−1.18Below flood stage7,190
50May 20, 195310.66−1.34Below flood stage7,080

The worst floods along the Bluestone River

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

March 13, 2010: 17.25 ft here, moderate flooding

February 16, 2025: 17.00 ft here, moderate flooding

  • SpanishburgWV · Feb 16, 2025 · 19.98 ft · Major · its highest
  • Falls MillsVA · Feb 16, 2025 · 9.96 ft · Moderate

Gauges on the Bluestone River

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

Flood gauges on the Bluestone River
Falls MillsVA7.010.96 ft, May 29, 20230
SpanishburgWV12.019.98 ft, Feb 16, 20251
Pipestem this gaugeWV12.017.25 ft, Mar 13, 20100

Other gauges in Summers County

Flood gauges in Summers County
Hilldale20.026.88 ft, Jan 20, 19961
Hinton15.018.97 ft, Aug 15, 19401

Summers County: every hazard · River floods across the country · West Virginia

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PIPW2, 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.