Oconaluftee River at Birdtown, 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 03512000 sits on the Oconaluftee River and reads everything draining 184 square miles of the Tuckasegee basin. Its datum sits 1,843 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1945, 79 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 Tuckasegee River at Bryson City, NC at 655 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 28% of the water measured there. It then enters Fontana Lake on Ltl Tennessee River at Fontana Dam, NC, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The Oconaluftee River runs a median of 391 cfs at this gauge across 79 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 669 cfs, and October the leanest at 197 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 8,470 cfs in 1963, and the lowest is 65 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1945 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Oconaluftee River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 18 feet, in November 1906.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BIRN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.