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Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth

Highest listed crest 40.04 ftFlood stage 36.0 ft22 crests since 1951

The Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth crested above flood stage 6 times among the 22 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1951 to 2015. The highest, 40.04 ft on March 3, 1997, was moderate flooding, 4.04 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Little Kanawha River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
40.04 ft
March 3, 1997; 55,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
36.0 ft
Major flooding from 44.0 ft
Crests at major
0
6 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
November 23, 2011
36.34 ft, minor flooding
Location
Wirt 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, Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth
Action stage34.03Nov 6, 1985The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)36.04Nov 23, 2011Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage38.02Mar 3, 1997Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage44.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

22 crests from 1951 to 2015. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth, 1951 to 2015 30354045ft Flood stage 36.0 ftMajor 44.0 ft Feb 2, 1951: 34.22 ft, action stage; 42,500 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1957: 31.78 ft, below flood stage; 36,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 28, 1962: 30.34 ft, below flood stage; 31,500 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1963: 31.94 ft, below flood stage; 31,900 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1966: 31.24 ft, below flood stage; 34,700 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1967: 39.14 ft, moderate flooding; 50,700 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 1970: 31.24 ft, below flood stage; 36,400 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 1973: 32.34 ft, below flood stage; 35,800 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1974: 33.56 ft, below flood stage; 41,700 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 1978: 35.00 ft, action stage; 43,000 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 1979: 36.37 ft, minor flooding; 41,900 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1985: 34.43 ft, action stage; 39,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 16, 1989: 31.40 ft, below flood stage; 35,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 10, 1994: 33.48 ft, below flood stage; 40,400 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1996: 30.61 ft, below flood stage; 33,900 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1997: 40.04 ft, moderate flooding; 55,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 2000: 36.04 ft, minor flooding; 41,500 cubic feet per secondMar 21, 2002: 33.43 ft, below flood stage; 39,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2003: 36.44 ft, minor flooding; 46,180 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2008: 33.14 ft, below flood stage; 39,380 cubic feet per secondNov 23, 2011: 36.34 ft, minor flooding; 45,980 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 2015: 33.01 ft, below flood stage; 39,030 cubic feet per second Highest, 40.04 ft, Mar 3, 1997 196019701980199020002010

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth 1950s: 0 1960s: 1 1970s: 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 2 2 2010s: 1 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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. 3 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 32.25 ft on Apr 17, 1939; 30.40 ft on Apr 4, 1948; 30.90 ft on Apr 14, 1948.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Little Kanawha River at Elizabeth
1Mar 3, 199740.04+4.04Moderate55,100
2Mar 7, 196739.14+3.14Moderate50,700
3Feb 24, 200336.44+0.44Minor46,180
4Dec 10, 197936.37+0.37Minor41,900
5Nov 23, 201136.34+0.34Minor45,980
6Feb 19, 200036.04+0.04Minor41,500
7Jan 26, 197835.00−1.00Action43,000
8Nov 6, 198534.43−1.57Action39,800
9Feb 2, 195134.22−1.78Action42,500
10Jan 12, 197433.56−2.44Below flood stage41,700
11Feb 10, 199433.48−2.52Below flood stage40,400
12Mar 21, 200233.43−2.57Below flood stage39,900
13Jun 6, 200833.14−2.86Below flood stage39,380
14Mar 5, 201533.01−2.99Below flood stage39,030
15Dec 9, 197332.34−3.66Below flood stage35,800
16Mar 20, 196331.94−4.06Below flood stage31,900
17Dec 15, 195731.78−4.22Below flood stage36,400
18Feb 16, 198931.40−4.60Below flood stage35,000
19May 1, 196631.24−4.76Below flood stage34,700
20Apr 24, 197031.24−4.76Below flood stage36,400
21Jan 20, 199630.61−5.39Below flood stage33,900
22Feb 28, 196230.34−5.66Below flood stage31,500

The worst floods along the Little Kanawha River

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

March 3, 1997: 40.04 ft here, moderate flooding

Gauges on the Little Kanawha River

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

Flood gauges on the Little Kanawha River
BurnsvilleWV13.016.32 ft, Jun 2, 19740
GlenvilleWV23.029.70 ft, May 26, 19181
Elizabeth this gaugeWV36.040.04 ft, Mar 3, 19970

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ELZW2, 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.