Duck River at Columbia, TN 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 03599500 sits on the Duck River and reads everything draining 1,208 square miles of the Lower Duck basin. Its datum sits 535 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 50 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Duck River at Mile 156 near Pottsville, TN, reading 1,029 square miles. This gauge adds the 179 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Duck River near Shady Grove, TN at 1,705 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 71% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Duck River runs a median of 653 cfs at this gauge across 50 years of record. January is the fullest month at a median 2,160 cfs, and September the leanest at 212 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 52,300 cfs in 1991, and the lowest is 86 cfs in 1983.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1977 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Duck River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 32 feet. NWS starts watching it at 28 feet. The highest crest on record is 51.8 feet, in February 1948.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge COLT1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.