Pacolet River below Lake Blalock near Cowpens, SC 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 021556525 sits on the Pacolet River and reads everything draining 273 square miles of the Upper Broad basin. Its datum sits 645 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1994, 33 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Lake Blalock near Cowpens, SC sits immediately upstream, so dam releases rather than rainfall set the flow here. Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Pacolet River near Fingerville, SC, reading 212 square miles. This gauge adds the 61 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Pacolet River at Us-29 near Converse, SC at 314 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 87% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Pacolet River at Pacolet, SC and Pacolet River near Saratt, SC.

Normal flows here

The Pacolet River runs a median of 239 cfs at this gauge across 33 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 376 cfs, and September the leanest at 128 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 16,100 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 28 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1994 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Pacolet River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 14 feet. NWS starts watching it at 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 17.1 feet, in May 2003.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge COWS1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.