French Broad River at Blantyre, 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 03443000 sits on the French Broad River and reads everything draining 296 square miles of the Upper French Broad basin. Its datum sits 2,060 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1921, 105 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 French Broad River near Fletcher, NC at 640 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 46% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to French Broad River at Blue Ridge Pkwy at Bent Creek NC, French Broad River at Haywood Rd at Asheville, NC and French Broad River at Asheville, NC.

Normal flows here

The French Broad River runs a median of 780 cfs at this gauge across 105 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,090 cfs, and October the leanest at 498 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 25,500 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 120 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1921 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The French Broad River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 16 feet. NWS starts watching it at 15 feet. The highest crest on record is 28.4 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BLAN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.