The Potomac Highlands Watershed School 

Real Time Data

CURRENT PRECIPITATION DATA

Precipitation data for the past 24 hours at numerous automated mountaintop sites in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania,  Virginia, West Virginia.

FLOOD FORECASTS & ARCHIVED PRECIPITATION DATA

The Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center provides daily river forecasts for the Susquehanna, Potomac, Shenandoah, Rappahannock, James, Appomattox, and other rivers.  They issue Flash Flood Guidance, Short and Long Term Probabilistic Forecasts, and graphical presentations of hydrologic information.

            Current River Forecasts provides observed (current) conditions.  Tabs on the page provide forecasts for river levels and precipitation. 

            MARFC Archives provides precipitation information going back to 1997.  Maps are available for research that show the monthly precipitation departure (the rainfall amount above or below normal).   From 2004 on, data tables are available showing daily rainfall by month.  It is possible to research rain fall and river levels during storm events, hurricanes, and floods.

RIVER FLOW & WATER DATA

The U.S. Geological Service maintains river gauge stations all over the country.  In the table below you will find direct links to some stations on major rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.   Links to many more stations are available for all 50 states, including:

These links provide graphic and tabular stream flow data at stations throughout each state, for as much as 60 days of current data.  Use the blue box part way down the page to set search dates.  With a few clicks of the mouse, you can see data from before the 60 day period too.  Archived data for previous years is available by following the “Summary of all available data” link just below the blue box.  Try exploring floods that you remember.