Tar River at Greenville, 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 02084000 sits on the Tar River and reads everything draining 2,660 square miles of the Lower Tar basin. Its datum sits 4 feet below sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1997, 28 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Tar River at Tarboro, NC, reading 2,183 square miles. This gauge adds the 477 square miles that drain in between.

Normal flows here

The Tar River runs a median of 966 cfs at this gauge across 28 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 2,760 cfs, and October the leanest at 538 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 72,300 cfs in 1999, and the lowest is -54.3 cfs in 2010.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1997 to 2025. 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 13 feet. NWS starts watching it at 12 feet. The highest crest on record is 29.7 feet, in September 1999.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge PGVN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.