Oconee River near Penfield, GA Water Level Today

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 02218300 sits on the Oconee River and reads everything draining 940 square miles of the Upper Oconee basin. Its datum sits 433 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 49 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Middle Oconee River near Athens, GA, reading 398 square miles. This gauge adds the 542 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Lake Oconee near Eatonton, GA at 1,820 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 52% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Oconee River runs a median of 746 cfs at this gauge across 49 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,370 cfs, and September the leanest at 386 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 21,900 cfs in 1990, and the lowest is 33 cfs in 1986.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1977 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Oconee River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 11 feet. The highest crest on record is 26.9 feet, in March 1929.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PNFG1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.