Hiwassee River at Riverside Dr, near Hiawassee, GA Water Level Today

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 03544970 sits on the Hiwassee River and reads everything draining 40 square miles of the Hiwassee basin. Its datum sits 1,966 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2007, 19 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 Chatuge Lake on Hiwassee near Hayesville, NC at 189 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 21% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Hiwassee River runs a median of 84 cfs at this gauge across 19 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 145 cfs, and September the leanest at 44 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 2,050 cfs in 2018, and the lowest is 14 cfs in 2007.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2007 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Hiwassee River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 11.2 feet, in May 2018.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HWEG1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Chatuge Dam is 10 miles from this gauge on the Hiwassee system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Chatuge Dam 10 miles
• Nottely Dam 21 miles