Little Tennessee River at Needmore, 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 03503000 sits on the Little Tennessee River and reads everything draining 436 square miles of the Upper Little Tennessee basin. Its datum sits 1,761 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1944, 80 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Little Tennessee River at Lake Emory Dam, NC, reading 310 square miles. This gauge adds the 126 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Fontana Lake on Ltl Tennessee River at Fontana Dam, NC at 1,571 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 28% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Little Tennessee River runs a median of 780 cfs at this gauge across 80 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,320 cfs, and September the leanest at 432 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 17,200 cfs in 1965, and the lowest is 71 cfs in 1955.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1944 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Little Tennessee River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 11 feet. NWS starts watching it at 7.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 13.1 feet, in October 1964.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NEEN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Fontana Dam is 18 miles from this gauge on the Little Tenn system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Fontana Dam 18 miles