Tar River at US 401 at Louisburg, 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 02081747 sits on the Tar River and reads everything draining 427 square miles of the Upper Tar basin. Its datum sits 176 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1964, 54 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Tar River near Tar River, NC, reading 167 square miles. This gauge adds the 260 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Tar River at Nc-581 near Spring Hope, NC at 671 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 64% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Tar River below Dam near Langley Crossroads, NC. It then enters Tar River below Tar River Reservoir near Rocky Mount, NC, below which releases set the flow.

Normal flows here

The Tar River runs a median of 148 cfs at this gauge across 54 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 402 cfs, and September the leanest at 55 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 22,400 cfs in 1999, and the lowest is 2.1 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1964 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Tar River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 20 feet. The highest crest on record is 26.1 feet, in September 1999.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LOUN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.