TidalMapBig Swamp near Tar Heel, NC Flow & Water Level
NWS river forecast
| When | Stage | Flow |
|---|
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 02134480 sits on Big Swamp and reads everything draining 229 square miles of the Lumber basin. Its datum sits 99 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1986, 40 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 Lumber River at Boardman, NC at 1,228 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 19% of the water measured there.
Normal flows here
Big Swamp runs a median of 79 cfs at this gauge across 40 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 263 cfs, and July the leanest at 36 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 17,000 cfs in 2017, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 2002.
| Month | Median flow | Share of annual median |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 236 cfs | 299% |
| Feb | 251 cfs | 318% |
| Mar | 263 cfs | 333% |
| Apr | 158 cfs | 201% |
| May | 64 cfs | 81% |
| Jun | 42 cfs | 53% |
| Jul | 36 cfs | 46% |
| Aug | 43 cfs | 54% |
| Sep | 50 cfs | 64% |
| Oct | 54 cfs | 68% |
| Nov | 102 cfs | 129% |
| Dec | 188 cfs | 238% |
Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1986 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.
Flood stages and record crests
Big Swamp reaches flood stage at this gauge at 16 feet. NWS starts watching it at 15 feet. The highest crest on record is 18.7 feet, in October 2016.
| Category | Gage height |
|---|---|
| Action | 15 ft |
| Minor flooding | 16 ft |
| When | Crest |
|---|---|
| October 2016 | 18.7 ft |
| September 2018 | 17.2 ft |
| November 2020 | 14.6 ft |
| September 1999 | 14.3 ft |
| October 1999 | 13.9 ft |
Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BGSN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.
Nearby river gauges
- Cape Fear River at Wilm O Huske Lock near Tarheel, NC
- Lumber River at Lumberton, NC
- Lumber River at Boardman, NC
- Beaver Creek at Cumberland, NC
- Blounts Creek at Winslow Street at Fayetteville NC
- Cape Fear River at Fayetteville, NC
- Little Rockfish Creek near Cumberland, NC
- Cross Creek at Blue Street at Fayetteville, NC
- Cross Creek at Langdon Street at Fayetteville, NC
- Beaver Creek at All American Freeway Fort Bragg, NC
- Beaver Creek at Gruber Road at Fort Bragg, NC
- Tank Creek at Longstreet Road at Fort Bragg, NC
Live streamflow and gage height: USGS gauge 02134480. Percentile context computed against the gauge's period of record. Not for navigation.
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