Cumberland River at Barbourville, KY 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 03403500 sits on the Cumberland River and reads everything draining 960 square miles of the Upper Cumberland basin. Its datum sits 942 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1923 to 2005, 24 years in all.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Cumberland River at Pine St Br at Pineville, KY, reading 770 square miles. This gauge adds the 190 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cumberland River at Williamsburg, KY at 1,607 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 60% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Cumberland River runs a median of 884 cfs at this gauge across 24 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 2,210 cfs, and September the leanest at 156 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 47,200 cfs in 1977, and the lowest is 0.5 cfs in 1931.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1923 to 2005. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median. USGS stopped publishing a daily flow record at this gauge, so these are historical norms, not a baseline for current readings.

Flood stages and record crests

The Cumberland River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 27 feet. NWS starts watching it at 21.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 45.9 feet, in April 1977.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BBVK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.