Nantahala River near Hewitt, 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 03505550 sits on the Nantahala River and reads everything draining 145 square miles of the Upper Little Tennessee basin. Its datum sits 1,876 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2005, 22 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Nantahala Lake on Nantahala River near Topton, NC, reading 91 square miles. This gauge adds the 54 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 9% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Nantahala River runs a median of 388 cfs at this gauge across 22 years of record. January is the fullest month at a median 591 cfs, and September the leanest at 315 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 4,620 cfs in 2018, and the lowest is 29 cfs in 2009.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2005 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Nantahala River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 15 feet. NWS starts watching it at 9 feet. The highest crest on record is 6.9 feet, in May 2018.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HEWN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Fontana Dam is 13 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 13 miles
• Chatuge Dam 21 miles