Big Black River near Bentonia, MS Water Level Today

NWS river forecast

Forecast from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Issued a few times a day and only while a forecast is active. Not for navigation.

Last 30 days

About this gauge

USGS gauge 07289730 sits on the Big Black River and reads everything draining 2,340 square miles of the Lower Big Black basin. Its datum sits 130 feet above sea level NGVD29. Daily flow has been on record here since 1996, 31 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from Big Black River near Bovina, MS at 2,812 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 83% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Big Black River runs a median of 833 cfs at this gauge across 31 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 4,470 cfs, and October the leanest at 249 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 64,300 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 80 cfs in 2000.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1996 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Big Black River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 22 feet. NWS starts watching it at 21 feet. The highest crest on record is 32.5 feet, in May 1983.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BTAM6. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.