Cheat River level at Albright
West Virginia · Paddling & whitewater
Measured at USGS 03070260 — CHEAT RIVER AT ALBRIGHT, WV · NWS forecast point ABRW2
Reading taken · as of 18 min ago
Up — bigger, pushier water than average
At 826 CFS, this gauge is running 152% of normal for mid-September — above the 544 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 16 years of record (1997–2026).
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Flood stages at Albright
National Weather Service categories for gauge ABRW2, WFO PBZ. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
-
Major flood 32.0 ft
- 33.5 ft Water reaches homes on Wall Street.
- 35.0 ft Water reaches the I-beams under the Route 26 bridge in Albright
- 36.0 ft Flood waters reach Main Street in Albright.
-
Moderate flood 30.0 ft
- 30.0 ft St Joe Road floods south of gage.
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Minor flood 27.0 ft
- 27.0 ft Water begins to enter the parking lot at the Albright Power station. River is bankfull just north of route 26 bridge in Albright
- 28.3 ft Water reaches low spot on Route 26 north of gage location.
- 29.0 ft Water covers low spots in town along Bishop Ave and in Albright Memorial Park
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Action 24.0 ft
- Right now 11.15 ft
NWS forecast: 13.50 ft by .
Flow history at Albright
Daily values from USGS 03070260, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for ABRW2 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Albright
8 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 27.23 ft | 50,000 CFS | Jul 29, 2017 |
| 24.82 ft | 38,044 CFS | Mar 1, 2021 |
| 24.72 ft | 37,573 CFS | Jun 30, 2019 |
| 24.23 ft | 35,503 CFS | Mar 5, 2015 |
| 22.68 ft | 28,878 CFS | Mar 15, 2015 |
| 18.10 ft | 12,971 CFS | Feb 8, 2019 |
| 16.83 ft | 9,677 CFS | Feb 13, 2019 |
| 7.95 ft | 40,380 CFS | Jun 4, 2008 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Cheat River at Albright
In West Virginia — the reading paddlers, anglers and outfitters here check before committing to a shuttle. Cheat Canyon; free-flowing so the reading is the trip decision.
Cheat River at Albright — common questions
3 questions
How fast can Cheat River at Albright come up?
Fast. It is free-flowing, so rain upstream moves it directly. Several feet in a few hours is normal after a heavy storm.
Is Cheat River at Albright high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 544 CFS, from 16 years of record (1997–2026). Today is 152% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 03070260 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for ABRW2 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.