Little Tennessee River near Prentiss, 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 03500000 sits on the Little Tennessee River and reads everything draining 140 square miles of the Upper Little Tennessee basin. Its datum sits 2,008 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1944, 82 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 Tennessee River at Lake Emory Dam, NC at 310 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 45% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Little Tennessee River at Needmore, NC.

Normal flows here

The Little Tennessee River runs a median of 296 cfs at this gauge across 82 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 478 cfs, and September the leanest at 157 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 7,830 cfs in 2004, and the lowest is 37 cfs in 2008.

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 15 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 17.3 feet, in November 1964.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PRTN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.