Pigeon River at Newport, TN 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 03461500 sits on the Pigeon River and reads everything draining 666 square miles of the Pigeon basin. Its datum sits 1,038 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1901, 86 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Pigeon River below Power Plant near Waterville, NC, reading 538 square miles. This gauge adds the 128 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Douglas Lake at 4,541 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 15% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Pigeon River runs a median of 914 cfs at this gauge across 86 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,710 cfs, and September the leanest at 450 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 41,300 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 48 cfs in 1953.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1901 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Pigeon River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 8 feet. NWS starts watching it at 6 feet. The highest crest on record is 29.7 feet, in September 2024.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge NEPT1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.

TVA dams near this gauge

TVA's Douglas Dam is 20 miles from this gauge on the French Broad system. Planned generation, lake level and tailwater elevation for it load below when TVA has published them.

• Douglas Dam 20 miles
• Cherokee Dam 23 miles