Is the Susquehanna River flooding?
The Susquehanna River is tracked by 10 USGS streamgauges in Pennsylvania. This page compares each gauge’s live water level against its official National Weather Service flood stage, refreshed every 15 minutes, so you can tell whether the Susquehanna River is running normal, rising toward flood stage, or already flooding. 9 of 10 gauges have both a usable water-level reading and a published minor flood stage. Gauges without a published flood stage show water level and flow only. For nearby rivers, see all Pennsylvania river levels.
River facts
The longest-running gauge on this river is Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, PA. The highest level ever recorded there was 32.57 ft on 24 June 1972, carrying 1,020,000 cfs. Peak records there go back to 1786 (140 annual peaks). It is currently at 4.22 ft, 28.4 ft below that record.
| Gauge | Status | Stage | Flood stage | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susquehanna River near Waverly NY | No flooding | 2.18 ft | 13 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Towanda, PA | No flooding | 1.00 ft | 16 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Meshoppen, PA | No flooding | 8.70 ft | 27 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre, PA | No flooding | 1.93 ft | 22 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Bloomsburg, PA | No flooding | 2.72 ft | 19 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Danville, PA | No flooding | 4.00 ft | 20 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Sunbury, PA | No flooding | 8.38 ft | 24 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, PA | No flooding | 4.22 ft | 17 ft | |
| Susquehanna River at Marietta, PA | No flooding | 35.84 ft | 49 ft | |
| Susquehanna River above Dam at Sunbury, PA | No flood stage defined | 9.01 ft | — |
About the Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna is the longest river on the American east coast and drains most of central Pennsylvania into Chesapeake Bay. It is broad, shallow, and prone to large regional floods — and it carries one of the longest peak-flow records in the United States, with observations reaching back into the 1780s.
Tropical Storm Agnes, June 1972
Agnes produced what remains the defining flood of the modern Susquehanna basin. Flood elevations along the river were the highest ever recorded, and on many streams the floods were the highest known since the valleys were settled. Maximum discharges reached roughly twice those of a 50-year flood.
At Wilkes-Barre the levee was overtopped on 23 June 1972, and flood elevations in that area exceeded the previous benchmarks of 1865 and 1936 by around eight feet. Wilkes-Barre was evacuated for four days. Harrisburg flooded, including the governor's residence. The Wyoming Valley alone suffered more than $530 million in 1972-dollar damages.
Why this basin floods regionally
The Susquehanna's tributaries drain a wide, relatively low-relief basin, so the river responds to broad regional rainfall rather than isolated storms. Decaying tropical systems moving up the eastern seaboard are the classic trigger — they deliver sustained rain across the whole watershed at once.
Ice is a second, distinct hazard. Winter ice jams can dam the channel, back water up rapidly, and then release without warning, producing local flooding that has nothing to do with current rainfall.
Reading this river
Because the basin responds as a unit, upstream gauges give genuinely useful lead time here. A widespread rise across several tributary gauges is a stronger signal than any single reading.
The exceptionally long record on this river means a current reading can be placed against nearly two and a half centuries of observations — useful context that very few US rivers can offer.