Chattahoochee River at Atlanta water level

Name: Chattahoochee River at Atlanta 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, Chattahoochee River, Georgia, United States

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

3.05ft Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 05:45 PM EDT (21 min ago)

Flow: 1,150 cfs
Water temperature: 60 °F

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Forecast Minor flood stage

The forecast expects the river to fall to 3.00 ft by Monday, October 19 at 02:00 PM. Issued Monday, October 19 at 09:30 AM by NOAA National Weather Service.

What this means

At 3.05 ft, the Chattahoochee River at Atlanta is below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 3.36 ft, based on 39 years of readings, so the river stage is 0.31 ft below typical. It is 10.95 ft below the flood stage of 14.00 ft. On the same day last year the reading was 3.70 ft, a difference of −0.65 ft.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. The forecast expects the river to fall to 3.00 ft by Monday, October 19 at 02:00 PM. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

The water temperature at the gauge is 60 °F.

Compared with 39 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 3.36 ft0.31 ft below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 2.89 ft – 5.57 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (39 years of records)
Same day last year: 3.70 ft−0.65 ft
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 2.93 ft – 4.69 ft
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 2.57 ft – 8.16 ft
Highest on record: 29.00 ftDecember 10, 1919
Forecast peak: 3.00 ftMonday, October 19 at 02:00 PM

What the stage means on the water

Low water means more dragging on shallow riffles and slower floats. Fish crowd into the deeper runs, and warm, low water stresses them, so play and release them quickly.

The National Weather Service puts flood stage for this gauge at 14.00 ft, still 10.95 ft away.

What happens at each level

34.00 ft: Record flooding never seen before occurs with both of the old wooden and concrete Paces Ferry Road bridges completely submerged. This catastropic and massive flood will affect numerous homes...businesses and restaurants on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive and Farmington Drive with up to 14 feet of water in some locations. Some of the buildings on the Lovett School campus will be flooded with up to 8 feet of water. Transportation in and out of the area will be impossible due to road closures.
32.00 ft: Record flooding never seen before continues. Both of the old wooden and concrete Paces Ferry Road bridges will be flooded out. This catastropic and massive flood will affect numerous homes...businesses and restaurants on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive and Farmington Drive with up to 12 feet of water in some locations. A few buildings on the Lovett School campus will be flooded with up to 6 feet of water. Transportation in and out of the area will be nearly impossible due to road closures.
30.00 ft: Record flooding never seen before occurs near the gage on Paces Ferry Road. The Old Paces Ferry Road wooden bridge will be flooded out. This catastropic and massive flood will affect numerous homes...businesses and restaurants on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive and Farmington Drive with up to 10 feet of water in some locations. A few buildings on the Lovett School campus will be flooded with up to 4 feet of water. Transportation in and out of the area will be nearly impossible due to road closures.
29.00 ft: Record flooding occurs near the gage on Paces Ferry Road. Numerous homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive and Farmington Drive will be flooded with up to 9 feet of water. A restaurant near the Paces Ferry Road bridge will be under 7 feet of water as the flood waters hit the bridge. Flood waters will affect other businesses nearby. Some of the buildings on the Lovett School campus will be flooded with up to 3 feet of water. This will be worse than the epic flooding in September 2009.
28.00 ft: Near record flooding occurs around the gage on Paces Ferry Road. Numerous homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive and Farmington Drive will be flooded with up to 8 feet of water. A restaurant near the Paces Ferry Road bridge will be under 6 feet of water as the flood waters hit the bridge. Flood waters will begin to enter other businesses nearby. Some of the buildings on the Lovett School campus will be flooded with two feet of water. This will be similar to the epic flooding in September 2009.
26.00 ft: Extensive inundation flooding occurs around the gage on Paces Ferry Road. The water level will reach the bottom of the bridge. Numerous homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive will be flooded with up to 6 feet of water. A restaurant near the bridge will be flooded with 4 feet of water. Flood waters will be approaching other businesses nearby and some of the buildings on the Lovett School campus. Around 3 miles downstream...a water treatment plant will begin to flood.
24.00 ft: Widespread inundation flooding continues of residential yards and roads near the gage on Paces Ferry Road. The athletic fields and track at Lovett School will be flooded. Many homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive will be flooded with up to 4 feet of water. A restaurant near the Paces Ferry Road bridge will be flooded with two feet of water. Around 3 miles downstream...half of a cement plant and most of a supply line railroad bridge will be flooded.
22.00 ft: Major flooding expands with widespread inundation flooding of residential yards and roads near the gage on Paces Ferry Road. An athletic field at Lovett School will be under 9 feet of water. Several homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive...and a restaurant parking lot near the bridge will be under two feet of water. The restaurant will begin to flood. Around 3 miles downstream...portions of a cement plant and supply line railroad bridge will be flooded.
20.00 ft: Major flooding begins. Widespread inundation flooding occurs upstream and downstream from the gage on Paces Ferry Road. An athletic field at Lovett School and backyards of residential homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive will be under 7 feet of water. Several homes...businesses and a restaurant parking lot and patio in this area will begin to flood. Around 3 miles downstream...portions of a cement plant and a supply line railroad bridge will begin to flood.
19.00 ft: Significant flooding expands along the river upstream and downstream from the gage on Paces Ferry Road. An athletic field at Lovett School and backyards of residential homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive...and walking paths by a restaurant will be under 6 feet of water. Some homes in these areas will be flooded with around one foot of water.
18.00 ft: Moderate flooding begins. Significant flooding of the woodlands along the river occurs upstream and downstream from the gage on Paces Ferry Road. An athletic field at Lovett School and backyards of residential homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive...and walking paths by a restaurant will be under 5 feet of water. The flood waters will begin to reach the foundations of some homes in lower lying areas.
16.00 ft: Minor flooding continues to expand into the woodlands along the river upstream and downstream from the gage on Paces Ferry Road. Most of an athletic field at Lovett School...backyards of residential homes on Cochise Drive...Paces Ferry Drive...Paces Manor and Farmington Drive...and walking paths by a restaurant will be under 3 feet of water.
3.05 ft: Right now

Impact statements from the U.S. National Weather Service.

Highest crests on record

Chance of at least minor flooding in October to December: < 5 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	29.00 ft	December 10, 1919
2	28.12 ft	September 22, 2009
3	28.00 ft	January 9, 1946
4	23.75 ft	September 27, 2024
5	23.03 ft	March 17, 1990
6	22.60 ft	September 17, 2004
7	22.29 ft	April 13, 1979
8	21.70 ft	November 28, 1948
9	21.70 ft	March 13, 1952
10	20.66 ft	February 3, 1982

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

18 Sun 66° 44° – Wind 12 mph

19 Mon 70° 40° – Wind 10 mph

20 Tue 76° 54° – Wind 6 mph

21 Wed 78° 58° – Wind 5 mph

22 Thu 77° 57° – Wind 8 mph

23 Fri 77° 58° – Wind 7 mph

24 Sat 73° 56° – Wind 11 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:47 AM Sunset 07:00 PM Daylight 11 hr, 14 min First quarter 62%

Map

Other gauges on the Chattahoochee River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Chattahoochee River at Buford Dam, near BufordRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	−0.56 ft	Very low	+0.01 ft	30 mi
Chattahoochee River near BufordRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	5.68 ft	No reference yet	−0.01 ft	28 mi
Chattahoochee River near NorcrossRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	1.84 ft	Very low	−2.25 ft	17 mi
Chattahoochee River above RoswellRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	2.68 ft	Very low	−0.82 ft	12 mi
Chattahoochee River at Morgan Falls DamReservoir, Chattahoochee River	864.86 ft	Normal	+0.53 ft	9 mi
Chattahoochee River below Morgan Falls DamRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	811.30 ft	Normal	+0.01 ft	9 mi
Chattahoochee River at US 41, at AtlantaRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	4.42 ft	Low	+0.02 ft	0.6 mi
Chattahoochee River at GA 280, near AtlantaRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	4.34 ft	Low	+0.03 ft	3.2 mi
Chattahoochee River near FairburnRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	0.40 ft	Low	+0.02 ft	19 mi
Chattahoochee River above Bear Creek, near RicoRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	0.68 ft	Low	+0.03 ft	24 mi
Chattahoochee River near WhitesburgRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	3.00 ft	Low	+0.03 ft	37 mi
Chattahoochee River at GA 100, at FranklinRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	7.97 ft	Low	±0	55 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Nancy Creek at West Wesley Road, at AtlantaRiver gauge, Nancy Creek	1.81 ft	Normal	−0.01 ft	1.7 mi
Rottenwood Creek at Interstate N Pkwy, near SmyrnaRiver gauge, Rottenwood Creek	2.16 ft	Normal	+0.01 ft	2.4 mi
Woodall Creek at Defoors Ferry Road, at AtlantaRiver gauge, Woodall Creek	0.75 ft	High	+0.01 ft	2.7 mi
Chatt River at Powers Fy and I-285 near AtlantaRiver gauge, Chatt River	3.68 ft	Low	−0.06 ft	3.0 mi
Peachtree Creek at AtlantaRiver gauge, Peachtree Creek	2.08 ft	Very low	±0	3.8 mi
Nancy Creek at Rickenbacker Drive, at AtlantaRiver gauge, Nancy Creek	1.18 ft	High	+0.01 ft	4.4 mi
Proctor Creek at Jackson Parkway, at AtlantaRiver gauge, Proctor Creek	3.00 ft	Very low	±0	4.6 mi
Nickajack Creek at US 78/278, near MabletonRiver gauge, Nickajack Creek	1.07 ft	Very low	±0	5.4 mi

Questions and answers

Is the Chattahoochee River at Atlanta higher than last year?

No, it is 0.65 ft lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 3.70 ft.

What is flood stage for the Chattahoochee River at Atlanta?

The official flood stage is 14.00 ft. The level is currently 10.95 ft below it.

What is a normal level for the Chattahoochee River at Atlanta in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 3.36 ft. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 2.89 ft and 5.57 ft, based on 39 years of records.

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 Chattahoochee River at Atlanta today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 05:45 PM EDT, the water level was 3.05 ft. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Chattahoochee River at Atlanta rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.06 ft over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Chattahoochee River at Atlanta normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 39 years of daily readings for this time of year.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:02336000 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 33.85917, -84.45444 (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	3.05 ft	2026-10-19 21:45	Provisional
Flow	1,150 cfs	2026-10-19 21:45	Provisional
Water temperature	60 °F	2026-10-19 21:45	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Chattahoochee River at Atlanta (usgs:02336000). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/georgia/chattahoochee-river-at-atlanta

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