Pigeon River near Hepco, 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 03459500 sits on the Pigeon River and reads everything draining 350 square miles of the Pigeon basin. Its datum sits 2,336 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1927, 99 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Six gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Pigeon River near Lake Junaluska, NC, reading 238 square miles. This gauge adds the 112 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Waterville Lake on Pigeon River near Mnt Sterling, NC at 455 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 77% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Pigeon River below Power Plant near Waterville, NC and Pigeon River at Newport, TN.

Normal flows here

The Pigeon River runs a median of 480 cfs at this gauge across 99 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 867 cfs, and September the leanest at 260 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 29,700 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 64 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1927 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 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 11 feet. The highest crest on record is 18 feet, in February 1902.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HEPN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.