James River (VA) at Scottsville, VA
River level and flood forecast · Albemarle County
The river is 15.0 ft below flood stage (20 ft).
Forecast to rise to 7.1 ft Tue 2 PM, below the 20 ft flood stage.
Flow: 3,430 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 3 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 24 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 22 ft |
| Flood stage | 20 ft |
| Action stage | 11 ft |
| Record crest (June 22, 1972) | 34.02 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 27 ftTop of flood wall. Town of Scottsville evacuated
- 22 ftMain Street gate is closed.
- 17 ftFerry Street gate is closed.
- 13 ftLevee pumping operations begin
Highest crests on record
- 34.02 ft — June 22, 1972
- 31.77 ft — November 6, 1985
- 30 ft — August 20, 1969
- 28.24 ft — September 7, 1996
- 26.17 ft — April 17, 1987
Recent crests: 21.83 ft (February 17, 2025) · 12.8 ft (April 13, 2024) · 14.72 ft (January 30, 2024) · 17.81 ft (January 10, 2024) · 17.4 ft (July 16, 2023)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (SVEV2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.