Saluda River near Ware Shoals, 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 02163500 sits on the Saluda River and reads everything draining 580 square miles of the Saluda basin. Its datum sits 437 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1939, 87 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Four gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Saluda River near Williamston, SC, reading 414 square miles. This gauge adds the 166 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Lake Greenwood near Chappells, SC at 1,170 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 50% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Saluda River at Chappells, SC.

Normal flows here

The Saluda River runs a median of 710 cfs at this gauge across 87 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,140 cfs, and September the leanest at 442 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 16,900 cfs in 2020, and the lowest is 11 cfs in 1942.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1939 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Saluda River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 42 feet. NWS starts watching it at 40 feet. The highest crest on record is 22.9 feet, in August 1995.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WSHS1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.