TidalMapRocky River above Irish Buffalo Creek near Rocky River, NC Flow & Water Level
NWS river forecast
| When | Stage | Flow |
|---|
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 0212433550 sits on the Rocky River and reads everything draining 278 square miles of the Rocky basin. Its datum sits 494 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2000, 24 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 Rocky River near Norwood, NC at 1,380 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 20% of the water measured there.
Normal flows here
The Rocky River runs a median of 94 cfs at this gauge across 24 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 182 cfs, and October the leanest at 59 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 8,690 cfs in 2003, and the lowest is 13 cfs in 2002.
| Month | Median flow | Share of annual median |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 138 cfs | 147% |
| Feb | 147 cfs | 156% |
| Mar | 182 cfs | 194% |
| Apr | 136 cfs | 145% |
| May | 104 cfs | 111% |
| Jun | 81 cfs | 86% |
| Jul | 75 cfs | 80% |
| Aug | 78 cfs | 83% |
| Sep | 61 cfs | 65% |
| Oct | 59 cfs | 63% |
| Nov | 70 cfs | 74% |
| Dec | 117 cfs | 124% |
Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2000 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.
Flood stages and record crests
The Rocky River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 18 feet. NWS starts watching it at 14 feet. The highest crest on record is 29.9 feet, in August 2008.
| Category | Gage height |
|---|---|
| Action | 14 ft |
| Minor flooding | 18 ft |
| Moderate flooding | 26 ft |
| Major flooding | 40 ft |
| When | Crest |
|---|---|
| August 2008 | 29.9 ft |
| January 2010 | 24.6 ft |
| February 2020 | 23.5 ft |
| April 2003 | 23.2 ft |
| September 2018 | 23.2 ft |
Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge IBFN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.
Nearby river gauges
- Clear Creek at Sr3181 near Mint Hill, NC
- Mckee Creek at Sr2804 near Wilgrove, NC
- Back Creek at Sr1173 near Harrisburg, NC
- Reedy Creek below I-485 near Pine Ridge, NC
- Reedy Creek at SR 2803 near Charlotte, NC
- Mallard Creek below Stony Creek near Harrisburg, NC
- Goose Creek at Sr1525 near Indian Trail, NC
- Goose Creek at Sr1524 near Indian Trail, NC
- Mcalpine Creek at Sr3150 near Idlewild, NC
- Clarke Creek near Harrisburg, NC
- Irvins Creek at Sr3168 near Charlotte, NC
- Campbell Creek near Charlotte, NC
Live streamflow and gage height: USGS gauge 0212433550. Percentile context computed against the gauge's period of record. Not for navigation.
Open Rocky River above Irish Buffalo Creek near Rocky River, NC on the live chart →
River pins, dam-release overlays and wadability lines live in the app, start a free TidalMap trial.