Tar River at Tarboro, 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 02083500 sits on the Tar River and reads everything draining 2,183 square miles of the Lower Tar basin. Its datum sits 9 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1896, 98 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Tar River at NC 97 at Rocky Mount, NC, reading 925 square miles. This gauge adds the 1,258 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Tar River at Greenville, NC at 2,660 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 82% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Tar River runs a median of 910 cfs at this gauge across 98 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 2,960 cfs, and September the leanest at 448 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 70,500 cfs in 1999, and the lowest is 28 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1896 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 19 feet. NWS starts watching it at 17 feet. The highest crest on record is 41.5 feet, in September 1999.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge TARN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.