Northeast Cape Fear River near Chinquapin, 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 02108000 sits on the Northeast Cape Fear River and reads everything draining 599 square miles of the Northeast Cape Fear basin. Its datum sits 16 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1940, 86 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 Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw, NC at 920 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 65% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Northeast Cape Fear River runs a median of 272 cfs at this gauge across 86 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 839 cfs, and October the leanest at 168 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 39,200 cfs in 2018, and the lowest is 2.9 cfs in 2011.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1940 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Northeast Cape Fear River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 25.8 feet, in September 2018.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CHIN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.