Catawba River near Rock Hill, SC 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 02146000 sits on the Catawba River and reads everything draining 3,050 square miles of the Lower Catawba basin. Its datum sits 485 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1896, 91 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Catawba River below Lake Wylie Dam Fewell Island, SC sits immediately upstream, so dam releases rather than rainfall set the flow here. Seven gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Catawba River below Lake Wylie Dam Fewell Island, SC, reading 3,020 square miles. Downstream the next reading comes from Catawba River below Catawba, SC at 3,540 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 86% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Catawba River runs a median of 3,050 cfs at this gauge across 91 years of record. January is the fullest month at a median 4,940 cfs, and October the leanest at 1,900 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 127,000 cfs in 1901, and the lowest is 132 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1896 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Catawba River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 15 feet. NWS starts watching it at 13 feet. The highest crest on record is 24.1 feet, in May 1901.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RHIS1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.