Linville River near Nebo, 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 02138500 sits on the Linville River and reads everything draining 67 square miles of the Upper Catawba basin. Its datum sits 1,203 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1922, 104 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 Old Catawba River below Catawba Dam near Bridgewater, NC at 294 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 23% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Catawba River at Rhodhiss, NC. It then enters Lake James on Linville River near Bridgewater, NC, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The Linville River runs a median of 97 cfs at this gauge across 104 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 155 cfs, and September the leanest at 60 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 19,200 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 8.0 cfs in 1925.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1922 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Linville River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 12 feet. NWS starts watching it at 10 feet. The highest crest on record is 13.7 feet, in September 2004.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NEBN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.