Neuse River at Smithfield, 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 02087570 sits on the Neuse River and reads everything draining 1,206 square miles of the Upper Neuse basin. Its datum sits 98 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1971 to 1991, 21 years in all.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Neuse River near Clayton, NC, reading 1,150 square miles. This gauge adds the 56 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Neuse River near Cox Mill, NC at 1,679 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 72% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Neuse River runs a median of 530 cfs at this gauge across 21 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,740 cfs, and September the leanest at 290 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 15,800 cfs in 1978, and the lowest is 65 cfs in 1977.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1971 to 1991. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median. USGS stopped publishing a daily flow record at this gauge, so these are historical norms, not a baseline for current readings.

Flood stages and record crests

The Neuse River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 15 feet. NWS starts watching it at 14 feet. The highest crest on record is 29.1 feet, in October 2016.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge SMFN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.