East Fork Pigeon River near Canton, 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 03456500 sits on the East Fork Pigeon River and reads everything draining 52 square miles of the Pigeon basin. Its datum sits 2,674 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1954, 72 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from Pigeon River near Canton, NC at 130 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 40% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Pigeon River near Hepco, NC and Pigeon River below Power Plant near Waterville, NC. It then enters Pigeon River near Lake Junaluska, NC, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The East Fork Pigeon River runs a median of 102 cfs at this gauge across 72 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 161 cfs, and September the leanest at 47 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 6,900 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 11 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1954 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The East Fork Pigeon River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 8.5 feet. NWS starts watching it at 7 feet. The highest crest on record is 16 feet, in August 2021.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CEPN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.