French Broad River at Marshall, 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 03453500 sits on the French Broad River and reads everything draining 1,332 square miles of the Upper French Broad basin. Its datum sits 1,646 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1943, 84 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is French Broad River at Asheville, NC, reading 945 square miles. This gauge adds the 387 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from French Broad River at Hot Springs, NC at 1,567 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 85% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to French Broad River near Newport, TN.

Normal flows here

The French Broad River runs a median of 1,855 cfs at this gauge across 84 years of record. April is the fullest month at a median 2,840 cfs, and September the leanest at 1,165 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 73,900 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 195 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1943 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 8 feet. NWS starts watching it at 7.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 21.4 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MARN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.