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Kanawha River at South Side Bridge

Highest listed crest 47.60 ftFlood stage 30.0 ft119 crests since 1822

The Kanawha River at South Side Bridge crested at major flood stage 6 times among the 119 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1822 to 2025. The highest, 47.60 ft on January 1, 1840, was major flooding, 17.60 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
47.60 ft
January 1, 1840
Flood stage
30.0 ft
Major flooding from 40.0 ft
Crests at major
6
15th of 116 gauges in West Virginia
Most recent flood crest
November 20, 2003
30.00 ft, minor flooding
Location
Kanawha County
Near Charleston (0.2 mi), South Charleston (4.1 mi), St. Albans (10.1 mi)

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 South Side Bridge
Action stage23.556Feb 17, 2025The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)30.026Nov 20, 2003Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage35.014Mar 5, 1934Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage40.06Mar 5, 1899Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

119 crests from 1822 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Kanawha River at South Side Bridge, 1822 to 2025 20304050ft Flood stage 30.0 ftMajor 40.0 ft Jan 1, 1822: 43.00 ft, major floodingJan 1, 1840: 47.60 ft, major floodingSep 29, 1861: 46.87 ft, major floodingJan 1, 1865: 38.10 ft, moderate floodingMar 29, 1870: 30.40 ft, minor floodingApr 23, 1870: 31.40 ft, minor floodingFeb 18, 1873: 27.50 ft, action stageMay 10, 1873: 27.00 ft, action stageApr 11, 1874: 31.60 ft, minor floodingFeb 26, 1875: 36.10 ft, moderate floodingAug 3, 1875: 33.30 ft, minor floodingJan 17, 1877: 35.70 ft, moderate floodingNov 25, 1877: 35.10 ft, moderate floodingSep 14, 1878: 41.63 ft, major floodingJan 14, 1879: 36.67 ft, moderate floodingFeb 14, 1880: 27.30 ft, action stageJan 7, 1886: 36.25 ft, moderate floodingApr 1, 1886: 39.35 ft, moderate floodingJun 1, 1889: 30.90 ft, minor floodingMar 23, 1890: 30.96 ft, minor floodingJan 3, 1891: 26.90 ft, action stageFeb 11, 1891: 24.10 ft, action stageApr 12, 1891: 23.25 ft, below flood stageJan 15, 1892: 28.90 ft, action stageApr 23, 1892: 27.35 ft, action stageFeb 18, 1893: 29.70 ft, action stageMay 5, 1893: 27.00 ft, action stageApr 9, 1895: 28.40 ft, action stageFeb 23, 1897: 41.50 ft, major floodingAug 11, 1897: 31.20 ft, minor floodingJan 7, 1899: 24.60 ft, action stageMar 5, 1899: 41.25 ft, major floodingNov 27, 1900: 31.00 ft, minor floodingApr 4, 1901: 27.50 ft, action stageApr 21, 1901: 36.40 ft, moderate floodingMay 23, 1901: 38.50 ft, moderate floodingMay 28, 1901: 25.60 ft, action stageJun 24, 1901: 31.40 ft, minor floodingDec 16, 1901: 32.60 ft, minor floodingDec 30, 1901: 38.60 ft, moderate floodingMar 1, 1902: 37.00 ft, moderate floodingMar 24, 1903: 33.00 ft, minor floodingMar 10, 1905: 28.50 ft, action stageMay 13, 1905: 28.00 ft, action stageJan 24, 1906: 28.55 ft, action stageNov 20, 1906: 26.50 ft, action stageJan 17, 1907: 30.10 ft, minor floodingJun 14, 1907: 33.00 ft, minor floodingFeb 16, 1908: 29.00 ft, action stageApr 2, 1908: 31.00 ft, minor floodingMar 28, 1913: 34.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 3, 1915: 29.90 ft, action stageJul 17, 1916: 29.20 ft, action stageMar 5, 1917: 29.70 ft, action stageMar 14, 1918: 36.10 ft, moderate floodingJan 2, 1919: 35.60 ft, moderate floodingDec 25, 1921: 25.00 ft, action stageMay 13, 1924: 30.10 ft, minor floodingOct 3, 1929: 30.60 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 1934: 37.90 ft, moderate floodingJan 24, 1935: 27.20 ft, action stageMar 7, 1935: 25.00 ft, action stageFeb 16, 1936: 29.00 ft, action stageMar 18, 1936: 31.20 ft, minor floodingJan 21, 1937: 27.50 ft, action stageOct 29, 1937: 33.80 ft, minor floodingFeb 4, 1939: 32.00 ft, minor floodingAug 15, 1940: 31.00 ft, minor floodingJan 1, 1943: 30.50 ft, minor floodingJan 9, 1946: 30.60 ft, minor floodingFeb 2, 1950: 30.40 ft, minor floodingMar 7, 1955: 31.90 ft, minor floodingJan 30, 1957: 29.00 ft, action stageMay 7, 1958: 21.60 ft, below flood stageMar 31, 1960: 26.70 ft, action stageFeb 26, 1961: 21.60 ft, below flood stageFeb 27, 1962: 26.00 ft, action stageMar 12, 1963: 27.90 ft, action stageMar 6, 1964: 22.50 ft, below flood stageMar 22, 1965: 23.00 ft, below flood stageMar 7, 1967: 28.50 ft, action stage; 154,000 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1969: 27.40 ft, action stage; 145,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1972: 29.60 ft, action stage; 162,000 cubic feet per secondApr 28, 1973: 22.50 ft, below flood stage; 111,000 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1974: 26.50 ft, action stage; 139,000 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1975: 23.20 ft, below flood stage; 115,000 cubic feet per secondOct 10, 1976: 23.80 ft, action stage; 119,000 cubic feet per secondApr 5, 1977: 28.00 ft, action stage; 150,000 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 1978: 27.00 ft, action stage; 142,000 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1979: 24.00 ft, action stage; 120,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1982: 20.50 ft, below flood stage; 99,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1984: 22.00 ft, below flood stage; 108,000 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 1984: 22.00 ft, below flood stage; 108,000 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1985: 21.50 ft, below flood stage; 105,000 cubic feet per secondMar 16, 1986: 20.00 ft, below flood stage; 96,000 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 1987: 24.70 ft, action stage; 125,000 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1989: 22.80 ft, below flood stage; 113,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1993: 25.20 ft, action stageMar 24, 1993: 24.90 ft, action stageMar 30, 1994: 26.10 ft, action stageJan 19, 1996: 27.40 ft, action stageJan 25, 1996: 22.00 ft, below flood stageMar 4, 1997: 22.80 ft, below flood stageJul 30, 2001: 23.60 ft, action stage; 118,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2003: 28.50 ft, action stage; 154,000 cubic feet per secondNov 20, 2003: 30.00 ft, minor flooding; 165,000 cubic feet per secondApr 16, 2007: 24.70 ft, action stageMar 6, 2008: 21.70 ft, below flood stageMar 13, 2010: 28.70 ft, action stageJan 17, 2013: 22.80 ft, below flood stage; 113,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2013: 25.10 ft, action stage; 128,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2015: 27.60 ft, action stage; 147,000 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 2016: 28.90 ft, action stage; 157,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 12, 2018: 24.00 ft, action stage; 120,000 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2018: 25.20 ft, action stage; 129,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2019: 26.30 ft, action stage; 135,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2020: 24.31 ft, action stage; 122,100 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2021: 29.71 ft, action stageFeb 17, 2025: 27.00 ft, action stage Highest, 47.60 ft, Jan 1, 1840 18401880192019602000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Kanawha River at South Side Bridge 1820s: 1 1830s: 0 1840s: 1 1850s: 0 1860s: 2 1870s: 9 1880s: 3 1890s: 4 1900s: 11 11 1910s: 3 1920s: 2 1930s: 4 1940s: 3 1950s: 2 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 1 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1820s1840s1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s
  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 119 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Kanawha River at South Side Bridge
1Jan 1, 184047.60+17.60Major—
2Sep 29, 186146.87+16.87Major—
3Jan 1, 182243.00+13.00Major—
4Sep 14, 187841.63+11.63Major—
5Feb 23, 189741.50+11.50Major—
6Mar 5, 189941.25+11.25Major—
7Apr 1, 188639.35+9.35Moderate—
8Dec 30, 190138.60+8.60Moderate—
9May 23, 190138.50+8.50Moderate—
10Jan 1, 186538.10+8.10Moderate—
11Mar 5, 193437.90+7.90Moderate—
12Mar 1, 190237.00+7.00Moderate—
13Jan 14, 187936.67+6.67Moderate—
14Apr 21, 190136.40+6.40Moderate—
15Jan 7, 188636.25+6.25Moderate—
16Feb 26, 187536.10+6.10Moderate—
17Mar 14, 191836.10+6.10Moderate—
18Jan 17, 187735.70+5.70Moderate—
19Jan 2, 191935.60+5.60Moderate—
20Nov 25, 187735.10+5.10Moderate—
21Mar 28, 191334.80+4.80Minor—
22Oct 29, 193733.80+3.80Minor—
23Aug 3, 187533.30+3.30Minor—
24Mar 24, 190333.00+3.00Minor—
25Jun 14, 190733.00+3.00Minor—
26Dec 16, 190132.60+2.60Minor—
27Feb 4, 193932.00+2.00Minor—
28Mar 7, 195531.90+1.90Minor—
29Apr 11, 187431.60+1.60Minor—
30Apr 23, 187031.40+1.40Minor—
31Jun 24, 190131.40+1.40Minor—
32Aug 11, 189731.20+1.20Minor—
33Mar 18, 193631.20+1.20Minor—
34Nov 27, 190031.00+1.00Minor—
35Apr 2, 190831.00+1.00Minor—
36Aug 15, 194031.00+1.00Minor—
37Mar 23, 189030.96+0.96Minor—
38Jun 1, 188930.90+0.90Minor—
39Oct 3, 192930.60+0.60Minor—
40Jan 9, 194630.60+0.60Minor—
41Jan 1, 194330.50+0.50Minor—
42Mar 29, 187030.40+0.40Minor—
43Feb 2, 195030.40+0.40Minor—
44Jan 17, 190730.10+0.10Minor—
45May 13, 192430.10+0.10Minor—
46Nov 20, 200330.000.00Minor165,000
47Feb 3, 191529.90−0.10Action—
48Mar 2, 202129.71−0.29Action—
49Feb 18, 189329.70−0.30Action—
50Mar 5, 191729.70−0.30Action—

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 FallsWV27.027.37 ft, Apr 4, 19770
South Side Bridge this gaugeWV30.047.60 ft, Jan 1, 18406

Other gauges in Kanawha County

Flood gauges in Kanawha County
Tornado25.031.98 ft, Mar 7, 19670
Queen Shoals19.033.31 ft, Jun 24, 20161
Charleston6.58.30 ft, Feb 6, 20250
Sissonville30.035.70 ft, Jun 29, 19981

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CRSW2, 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.