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Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls

Highest listed crest 27.37 ftFlood stage 27.0 ft41 crests since 1935

The Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls crested above flood stage 1 time among the 41 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1935 to 2014. The highest, 27.37 ft on April 4, 1977, was minor flooding, 0.37 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
27.37 ft
April 4, 1977; 54,500 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
27.0 ft
Major flooding from 35.0 ft
Crests at major
0
1 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
April 4, 1977
27.37 ft, minor flooding
Location
Fayette 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, Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls
Action stage25.00—The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)27.01Apr 4, 1977Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage30.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage35.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

41 crests from 1935 to 2014. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls, 1935 to 2014 101520253035ft Flood stage 27.0 ftMajor 35.0 ft Mar 25, 1935: 19.00 ft, below flood stage; 27,600 cubic feet per secondApr 1, 1935: 15.90 ft, below flood stage; 18,800 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1938: 14.00 ft, below flood stage; 13,600 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1943: 13.10 ft, below flood stage; 18,440 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1945: 13.20 ft, below flood stage; 19,400 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1946: 13.40 ft, below flood stage; 19,800 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1957: 21.60 ft, below flood stage; 35,700 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1963: 17.89 ft, below flood stage; 28,300 cubic feet per secondMar 26, 1965: 15.31 ft, below flood stage; 82,300 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1966: 14.60 ft, below flood stage; 75,900 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1967: 17.96 ft, below flood stage; 106,000 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1968: 13.63 ft, below flood stage; 67,200 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 1969: 15.14 ft, below flood stage; 80,800 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1969: 18.54 ft, below flood stage; 111,000 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1971: 13.92 ft, below flood stage; 69,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1972: 20.62 ft, below flood stage; 132,000 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1973: 15.65 ft, below flood stage; 85,400 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1974: 17.08 ft, below flood stage; 98,200 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1975: 18.13 ft, below flood stage; 108,000 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1976: 16.35 ft, below flood stage; 91,700 cubic feet per secondApr 4, 1977: 27.37 ft, minor flooding; 54,500 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1978: 16.64 ft, below flood stage; 25,800 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1978: 17.65 ft, below flood stage; 103,000 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1979: 17.76 ft, below flood stage; 104,000 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1980: 13.80 ft, below flood stage; 68,700 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1981: 15.17 ft, below flood stage; 81,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1982: 16.05 ft, below flood stage; 89,000 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1983: 15.50 ft, below flood stage; 84,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1984: 17.85 ft, below flood stage; 105,000 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1984: 18.89 ft, below flood stage; 30,300 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1985: 14.87 ft, below flood stage; 78,300 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1985: 17.58 ft, below flood stage; 103,000 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1988: 13.26 ft, below flood stage; 63,800 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1989: 17.34 ft, below flood stage; 101,000 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1990: 17.10 ft, below flood stage; 98,400 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1991: 16.25 ft, below flood stage; 90,700 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 1992: 15.43 ft, below flood stage; 83,400 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1993: 18.30 ft, below flood stageJan 19, 1996: 20.63 ft, below flood stageFeb 1, 2013: 19.01 ft, below flood stage; 116,100 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 2014: 15.28 ft, below flood stage; 80,200 cubic feet per second Highest, 27.37 ft, Apr 4, 1977 19401950196019701980199020002010

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 1 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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.
  3. 1 crest measured on an earlier gauge datum is left out: 37.80 ft on Sep 14, 1878.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Kanawha River at Kanawha Falls
1Apr 4, 197727.37+0.37Minor54,500
2Jan 29, 195721.60−5.40Below flood stage35,700
3Jan 19, 199620.63−6.37Below flood stage—
4Feb 26, 197220.62−6.38Below flood stage132,000
5Feb 1, 201319.01−7.99Below flood stage116,100
6Mar 25, 193519.00−8.00Below flood stage27,600
7May 7, 198418.89−8.11Below flood stage30,300
8Dec 31, 196918.54−8.46Below flood stage111,000
9Mar 24, 199318.30−8.70Below flood stage—
10Mar 20, 197518.13−8.87Below flood stage108,000
11Mar 7, 196717.96−9.04Below flood stage106,000
12Mar 15, 196317.89−9.11Below flood stage28,300
13Feb 15, 198417.85−9.15Below flood stage105,000
14Jan 21, 197917.76−9.24Below flood stage104,000
15Mar 14, 197817.65−9.35Below flood stage103,000
16Nov 6, 198517.58−9.42Below flood stage103,000
17May 6, 198917.34−9.66Below flood stage101,000
18Jan 1, 199017.10−9.90Below flood stage98,400
19Jan 11, 197417.08−9.92Below flood stage98,200
20Jan 29, 197816.64−10.36Below flood stage25,800
21Jan 1, 197616.35−10.65Below flood stage91,700
22Mar 24, 199116.25−10.75Below flood stage90,700
23Feb 4, 198216.05−10.95Below flood stage89,000
24Apr 1, 193515.90−11.10Below flood stage18,800
25Apr 28, 197315.65−11.35Below flood stage85,400
26Apr 25, 198315.50−11.50Below flood stage84,000
27Apr 23, 199215.43−11.57Below flood stage83,400
28Mar 26, 196515.31−11.69Below flood stage82,300
29May 17, 201415.28−11.72Below flood stage80,200
30May 29, 198115.17−11.83Below flood stage81,000
31Aug 21, 196915.14−11.86Below flood stage80,800
32May 25, 198514.87−12.13Below flood stage78,300
33May 2, 196614.60−12.40Below flood stage75,900
34Mar 3, 193814.00−13.00Below flood stage13,600
35May 31, 197113.92−13.08Below flood stage69,800
36Mar 19, 198013.80−13.20Below flood stage68,700
37Mar 13, 196813.63−13.37Below flood stage67,200
38Jan 17, 194613.40−13.60Below flood stage19,800
39Jan 21, 198813.26−13.74Below flood stage63,800
40Feb 17, 194513.20−13.80Below flood stage19,400
41Mar 13, 194313.10−13.90Below flood stage18,440

Gauges on the Kanawha River

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

Flood gauges on the Kanawha River
Kanawha Falls this gaugeWV27.027.37 ft, Apr 4, 19770
South Side BridgeWV30.047.60 ft, Jan 1, 18406

Other gauges in Fayette County

Flood gauges in Fayette County
Thurmond19.020.35 ft, Jan 20, 19960

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge KANW2, 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.