Cape Fear River at Lillington, NC Flow & Water Level

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 02102500 sits on the Cape Fear River and reads everything draining 3,464 square miles of the Upper Cape Fear basin. Its datum sits 104 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1982, 45 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Seven gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Haw River near Moncure, NC, reading 1,691 square miles. This gauge adds the 1,773 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cape Fear River at Fayetteville, NC at 4,395 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 79% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Cape Fear River runs a median of 959 cfs at this gauge across 45 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 3,950 cfs, and October the leanest at 660 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 56,000 cfs in 2018, and the lowest is 155 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1982 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Cape Fear River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 14 feet. NWS starts watching it at 13 feet. The highest crest on record is 33.2 feet, in September 1945.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LLLN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.