Little River at Sr1461 near Orange Factory, 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 0208521324 sits on the Little River and reads everything draining 78 square miles of the Upper Neuse basin. Its datum sits 383 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1987, 38 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 Little River Reservoir at Dam near Bahama, NC at 98 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 80% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Little River below Little River Tributary at Fairntosh, NC.

Normal flows here

The Little River runs a median of 20 cfs at this gauge across 38 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 62 cfs, and October the leanest at 4.0 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 6,500 cfs in 1996, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1987 to 2025. 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 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 10.9 feet, in September 2018.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LTLN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.