TornadoLiveMap

Patuxent River below Brighton Dam — water level right now

Montgomery County, Maryland · NWS gauge BGHM2
Loading the latest reading…
–
current stage (ft)
 
9
minor flood stage
 
11.88
record crest
set 2013-01-31
–
flood status
official NWS category
Official NOAA forecast → USGS data → Full US flood map →

Flood stages at this gauge

Where the water stands right now against the four official thresholds:

action · 8
minor · 9
Flood stageLevel (ft)What it means
Minor flood stage9low-lying roads and fields near the river start to flood
Action stage8water is approaching flood level — time to pay attention

Highest floods on record here

#Crest (ft)Datevs. minor flood stage
111.882013-01-31+2.88 above
211.412014-05-01+2.41 above
311.032003-12-11+2.03 above
410.261989-05-06+1.26 above
59.222015-06-28+0.22 above
67.821996-09-091.18 below

Historic crests recorded at this gauge by the National Weather Service — the 12 highest on file.

Where this gauge is

The marker is this gauge; nearby gauges load live and are clickable.

Nearby river gauges

Hawlings River near Sandy Spring 2 mi away · loading… Patuxent River near Unity 4 mi away · loading… Paint Branch Tributary Near Colesville, MD 7 mi away · loading… Little Patuxent River at Allview 8 mi away · loading… Little Patuxent River below Lake Kittamaqundi 8 mi away · loading… Little Patuxent River near Guilford 8 mi away · loading…

Gauge details

NWS gauge IDBGHM2
USGS site01591610
CountyMontgomery
StateMaryland
NWS forecast officeSterling
River forecast centerMiddle Atlantic River Forecast Center
Coordinates39.192, -77.004
Time zoneEST5EDT
Turn Around, Don't Drown. Six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet and twelve inches can float a car. Never drive around barricades or into water of unknown depth — most flood deaths happen in vehicles.

Questions about Patuxent River below Brighton Dam

Is Patuxent River below Brighton Dam flooding right now?

The live reading at the top of this page answers that: the gauge is compared against its official NWS flood stages every 15 minutes. Minor flooding at this gauge begins at 9 ft. Blue means normal, yellow is action stage, orange minor, red moderate and dark red major flooding.

What is flood stage for Patuxent River below Brighton Dam?

minor flood stage 9 ft, action stage 8 ft. These are official National Weather Service thresholds set specifically for this gauge, not generic values.

What is the record flood at Patuxent River below Brighton Dam?

The highest crest on file at this gauge is 11.88 ft, reached on 2013-01-31 — that is 2.88 ft above minor flood stage. The full list of the highest crests is in the table on this page.

Where does this data come from?

From the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, the official U.S. river gauge network — a U.S. government work in the public domain. Live stage is refreshed every 15 minutes; flood thresholds and historic crests are refreshed monthly. For life-safety decisions follow NWS Sterling and local emergency management.