French Broad River near Newport, 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 03455000 sits on the French Broad River and reads everything draining 1,858 square miles of the Upper French Broad basin. Its datum sits 1,011 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1901, 108 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is French Broad River at Hot Springs, NC, reading 1,567 square miles. This gauge adds the 291 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Douglas Lake at 4,541 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 41% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The French Broad River runs a median of 2,180 cfs at this gauge across 108 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 3,580 cfs, and October the leanest at 1,280 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 92,600 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 220 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1901 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 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 24 feet, in March 1867.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NWPT1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Douglas Dam is 21 miles from this gauge on the French Broad system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Douglas Dam 21 miles
• Cherokee Dam 23 miles