Irwin Creek near Charlotte, 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 02146300 sits on Irwin Creek and reads everything draining 31 square miles of the Lower Catawba basin. Its datum sits 591 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1962, 64 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Irwin Creek at Statesville Ave at Charlotte, NC, reading 6.0 square miles. This gauge adds the 25 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Sugar Creek at Arrowood Road near Charlotte, NC at 44 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 70% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Sugar Creek at NC 51 near Pineville, NC.

Normal flows here

Irwin Creek runs a median of 18 cfs at this gauge across 64 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 28 cfs, and September the leanest at 12 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 5,010 cfs in 1997, and the lowest is 3.1 cfs in 1986.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1962 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

Irwin Creek reaches flood stage at this gauge at 25 feet. NWS starts watching it at 24 feet. The highest crest on record is 20.4 feet, in July 1997.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge IRWN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.