Yadkin River at Elkin, 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 02112250 sits on the Yadkin River and reads everything draining 866 square miles of the Upper Yadkin basin. Its datum sits 866 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1964, 62 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Yadkin River at Wilkesboro, NC, reading 504 square miles. This gauge adds the 362 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Yadkin River at Enon, NC at 1,694 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 51% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Yadkin River runs a median of 1,080 cfs at this gauge across 62 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,390 cfs, and October the leanest at 766 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 28,700 cfs in 2024, and the lowest is 184 cfs in 2008.

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 Yadkin River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 18 feet. NWS starts watching it at 16 feet. The highest crest on record is 37.5 feet, in August 1940.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ELKN7. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.