Cumberland River near Harlan, 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 03401000 sits on the Cumberland River and reads everything draining 374 square miles of the Upper Cumberland basin. Its datum sits 1,139 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1980, 43 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Martin's Fork near Harlan, KY, reading 119 square miles. This gauge adds the 255 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Cumberland River at Pine St Br at Pineville, KY at 770 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 49% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Cumberland River runs a median of 392 cfs at this gauge across 43 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 980 cfs, and September the leanest at 100 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 21,300 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 16 cfs in 1998.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1980 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The highest crest on record is 30.2 feet, in April 1977.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LYLK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.