Potomac River at Harpers Ferry water level

Name: Potomac River at Harpers Ferry water level (U.S. Geological Survey)
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
License: https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits

River gauge, Potomac River, Maryland, United States

Directions

Latest reading

Water level

2.33ft Down 0.21 ft over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 09:45 AM EDT (58 min ago)

History

7 days

Water level

What this means

The Potomac River at Harpers Ferry reads 2.33 ft as of Oct 19, 2026, 09:45 AM EDT. There is no published reference for this river yet, so we can't say whether that is high or low for the season.

It has dropped 0.21 ft over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 2.33 ft and 3.28 ft.

The agency publishes no normal range for this gauge yet, so we show the trend only. How to read levels

Floating and fishing near Potomac River at Harpers Ferry

Use the recent trend as your guide, and ask locally which gage height makes for a good float.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 0.10 in. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 60° 37° – Wind 6 mph

19 Mon 67° 41° – Wind 8 mph

20 Tue 69° 42° – Wind 11 mph

21 Wed 66° 41° – Wind 9 mph

22 Thu 67° 40° – Wind 11 mph

23 Fri 65° 44° – Wind 8 mph

24 Sat 62° 39° – Wind 7 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:25 AM Sunset 06:28 PM Daylight 11 hr, 2 min First quarter 60%

Map

Other gauges on the Potomac River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Potomac River at Paw PawRiver gauge, Potomac River	5.73 ft	Below flood stage	−0.36 ft	42 mi
Potomac River at HancockRiver gauge, Potomac River	4.64 ft	Below flood stage	−0.30 ft	35 mi
Potomac River at ShepherdstownRiver gauge, Potomac River	3.18 ft	Below flood stage	−0.17 ft	9 mi
Potomac River at Burkittsville Road at BrunswickRiver gauge, Potomac River	3.39 ft	No reference yet	−0.14 ft	5.3 mi
Potomac River at Point of RocksRiver gauge, Potomac River	2.49 ft	Below flood stage	−0.19 ft	10 mi
Potomac River at Edwards Ferry near PoolesvilleRiver gauge, Potomac River	4.80 ft	Below flood stage	−0.15 ft	21 mi
Potomac River near Wash, Dc Little Falls Pump StationRiver gauge, Potomac River	3.51 ft	Below flood stage	−0.07 ft	41 mi
Potomac River at Wisconsin Ave, WashingtonEstuary gauge, Potomac River	0.64 ft	Below flood stage	+0.49 ft	46 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Piney Run near LovettsvilleRiver gauge, Piney Run	1.50 ft	Below flood stage	−0.02 ft	1.0 mi
Shenandoah River at MillvilleRiver gauge, Shenandoah River	2.61 ft	Below flood stage	−0.05 ft	4.4 mi
Antietam Creek near SharpsburgRiver gauge, Antietam Creek	2.40 ft	Below flood stage	−0.01 ft	9 mi
Catoctin Creek at TaylorstownRiver gauge, Catoctin Creek	2.81 ft	Below flood stage	−0.06 ft	9 mi
Bullskin Run below KabletownRiver gauge, Bullskin Run	1.18 ft	Below flood stage	±0	10 mi
North F Catoctin Creek at RT 681 near WaterfordRiver gauge, North F Catoctin Creek	1.85 ft	Below flood stage	+0.01 ft	10 mi
South F Catoctin Creek at RT 698 near WaterfordRiver gauge, South F Catoctin Creek	0.74 ft	Below flood stage	−0.05 ft	11 mi
Hopewell Run at LeetownRiver gauge, Hopewell Run	1.6 cfs	Very low	+0.1 cfs	11 mi

Questions and answers

Is gage height the same as water depth?

No. Gage height is measured from a fixed reference point chosen by the agency, so a reading of 10 ft does not mean the river is 10 ft deep.

What is the water level of Potomac River at Harpers Ferry today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 09:45 AM EDT, the water level was 2.33 ft. Down 0.21 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is Potomac River at Harpers Ferry rising or falling?

Down 0.21 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Potomac River at Harpers Ferry normal?

The agency publishes no normal range for this gauge yet, so we show the trend only.

How often is this data updated?

The U.S. Geological Survey publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

Where does this data come from?

The values come directly from the U.S. Geological Survey, the official operator of this gauge, and are in the public domain. We do not estimate or model live values.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:01620000 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 39.32375, -77.72819 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: NAVD88
Update interval: every 15 minutes
Licence: Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	2.33 ft	2026-10-19 13:45	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Potomac River at Harpers Ferry (usgs:01620000). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/maryland/potomac-river-at-harpers-ferry

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer