Elk River near Pelham, 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 03578000 sits on the Elk River and reads everything draining 66 square miles of the Upper Elk basin. Its datum sits 981 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1952, 62 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 Woods Reservoir at 263 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 25% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Elk River runs a median of 47 cfs at this gauge across 62 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 154 cfs, and September the leanest at 7.2 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 8,800 cfs in 1973, and the lowest is 0.3 cfs in 2009.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1952 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Elk River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 14 feet. NWS starts watching it at 11 feet. The highest crest on record is 14.1 feet, in March 1973.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PELT1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Tims Ford Dam is 24 miles from this gauge on the Elk system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Tims Ford Dam 24 miles
• Normandy Dam 24 miles
• Nickajack Dam 25 miles