Powell River near Jonesville Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Powell River near Jonesville in VA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location VA, United States
- Watershed powell
- Primary gauge 03531500 (USGS)
About Powell River near Jonesville
Powell River near Jonesville in the Powell watershed, Virginia, is the gauge on the river reach near Jonesville.
What the record shows
The record on this station runs back about 50 years. The high-water mark is 26.07 ft (7.95 m) in February 2018. The low-water mark is 1.1 ft (0.33 m) in October 2007.
The seasonal pattern is smaller than those records but still worth watching. February is the typical high month at 2.9 ft (0.89 m), and September is the typical low month at 1.55 ft (0.47 m). That leaves a typical annual swing of 16.3 in (41.4 cm). For people using the river, that is the range a dock, a crossing, or an intake has to live with through the year.
The regional pattern here is winter-spring rain floods, with the chance of sharp late-summer rises when tropical remnants push through, and brief summer low flows. I am only describing that seasonal rhythm; the station record above is the part that tells you how this river has actually behaved.
The watershed
The drainage area above this station is 319 sq mi (826 km2). That is the area feeding this gauge, not the whole Powell watershed.
For nearby users, that upstream area matters because the river can change quickly when rain covers the basin. The record high in February 2018 shows how far this station can climb in a wet month, while the October 2007 low shows how thin the river can run during dry spells. Those two ends bracket the conditions a bridge, bank crossing, or pump intake may have to handle.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on the page is best read against the median for this calendar day at this station, not against raw stage alone. A stage by itself can look large or small without telling you whether it is normal for the date. The day-median gives that context.
This station is a USGS site, so the agency behind the record is the U.S. Geological Survey. With more than 50 years on record, the day-median is a better check on whether the river is running above or below its usual level for now.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
