Little River near Princeton, 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 02088500 sits on the Little River and reads everything draining 232 square miles of the Upper Neuse basin. Its datum sits 107 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1930, 96 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Little River near Zebulon, NC, reading 55 square miles. This gauge adds the 177 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Neuse River near Goldsboro, NC at 2,399 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 10% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Little River runs a median of 78 cfs at this gauge across 96 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 309 cfs, and September the leanest at 40 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 17,600 cfs in 1999, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1930 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 12 feet. NWS starts watching it at 9 feet. The highest crest on record is 14.7 feet, in October 2016.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PNTN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.