French Broad River at Hot Springs, 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 03454500 sits on the French Broad River and reads everything draining 1,567 square miles of the Upper French Broad basin. Its datum sits 1,311 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1934, 30 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is French Broad River at Marshall, NC, reading 1,332 square miles. This gauge adds the 235 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from French Broad River near Newport, TN at 1,858 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 84% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The French Broad River runs a median of 1,910 cfs at this gauge across 30 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 3,190 cfs, and October the leanest at 1,300 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 87,100 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 454 cfs in 1942.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1934 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 9.5 feet. NWS starts watching it at 7.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 22.3 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HSPN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.