Little River at Manchester, NC Flow & Water Level
NWS river forecast
| When | Stage | Flow |
|---|
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 02103000 sits on the Little River and reads everything draining 348 square miles of the Upper Cape Fear basin. Its datum sits 123 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1939, 36 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 Cape Fear River at Fayetteville, NC at 4,395 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 8% of the water measured there.
Normal flows here
The Little River runs a median of 210 cfs at this gauge across 36 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 467 cfs, and June the leanest at 132 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 15,500 cfs in 2018, and the lowest is 19 cfs in 2015.
| Month | Median flow | Share of annual median |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 461 cfs | 220% |
| Feb | 447 cfs | 213% |
| Mar | 467 cfs | 223% |
| Apr | 340 cfs | 162% |
| May | 178 cfs | 85% |
| Jun | 132 cfs | 63% |
| Jul | 157 cfs | 75% |
| Aug | 166 cfs | 79% |
| Sep | 136 cfs | 65% |
| Oct | 171 cfs | 82% |
| Nov | 233 cfs | 111% |
| Dec | 358 cfs | 171% |
Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1939 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.
Flood stages and record crests
The Little River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 18 feet. NWS starts watching it at 16 feet. The highest crest on record is 38.3 feet, in September 2018.
| Category | Gage height |
|---|---|
| Action | 16 ft |
| Minor flooding | 18 ft |
| Moderate flooding | 24 ft |
| Major flooding | 27 ft |
| When | Crest |
|---|---|
| September 2018 | 38.3 ft |
| October 2016 | 32.2 ft |
| October 2016 | 31.4 ft |
| September 2016 | 31.2 ft |
| September 1945 | 29 ft |
Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MANN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.
Nearby river gauges
- Tank Creek at Reilly Road at Fort Bragg, NC
- Tank Creek at Butner Road at Fort Bragg, NC
- Tank Creek at Longstreet Road at Fort Bragg, NC
- Beaver Creek at Gruber Road at Fort Bragg, NC
- Beaver Creek at All American Freeway Fort Bragg, NC
- Cross Creek at Langdon Street at Fayetteville, NC
- Cross Creek at Blue Street at Fayetteville, NC
- Blounts Creek at Winslow Street at Fayetteville NC
- Little Rockfish Creek near Cumberland, NC
- Beaver Creek at Cumberland, NC
- Flat Creek near Inverness, NC
- Cape Fear River at Fayetteville, NC
Live streamflow and gage height: USGS gauge 02103000. Percentile context computed against the gauge's period of record. Not for navigation.
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