Tar River near Tar River, 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 02081500 sits on the Tar River and reads everything draining 167 square miles of the Upper Tar basin. Its datum sits 286 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1940, 87 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 Tar River at US 401 at Louisburg, NC at 427 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 39% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Tar River runs a median of 34 cfs at this gauge across 87 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 133 cfs, and September the leanest at 7.1 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 10,800 cfs in 1996, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 2007.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1940 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 16 feet. NWS starts watching it at 15 feet. The highest crest on record is 24.1 feet, in September 1996.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge TRVN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.