South Fork Catawba River near HENRY FORK, NC
River level and flood forecast · Catawba County
Normal2.4 ftas of Mon 4:30 PM
The river is 17.6 ft below flood stage (20 ft).
Flow: 339 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 7 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 40 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 35 ft |
| Flood stage | 20 ft |
| Action stage | 10 ft |
| Record crest (August 13, 1940) | 29.2 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 19 ftTHIS STAGE WOULD LIKELY FLOOD THE BRIDGE ON HICKORY SHELBY ROAD
- 18.04 ftFLOODING WILL BE SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH HURRICANE FRANCES IN SEPTEMBER 2004
- 11 ftBRIDGES DOWNSTREAM THAT CROSS THE SOUTH FORK CATAWWBA RIVER IN THE LINCOLNTON AREA IN LINCOLN COUNTY WILL LIKELY BE FLOODED. LABORATORY ROAD AND SOUTH FORK ROAD WILL BE EITHER FLOODED OR CLOSE TO FLOODING.
- 10 ftBANKFULL LEVEL
- 2.5 ft2.5 TO 3.0 IN 6 HOURS CAUSED A 8 FT RISE IN RIVER
Highest crests on record
- 29.2 ft — August 13, 1940
- 23 ft — July 16, 1916
- 18.71 ft — October 12, 1990
- 18.4 ft — October 2, 1929
- 18.06 ft — November 6, 1977
Recent crests: 11.75 ft (July 27, 2013) · 9.41 ft (March 6, 2011) · 14.47 ft (January 25, 2010) · 4.8 ft (August 27, 2008) · 8.35 ft (March 2, 2007)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- DownstreamSF Catawba River below George Poston Park, 1 N Lowell, NC
- Jacob Fork below Old NC 18 in Shoups Ford, NC
- South Fork Catawba River near Laboratory, NC
- Johns River at Corpening Bridge Rd, 6 NNW Morganton, NC
- Lower Little River near Ellendale, NC
- First Broad River near Casar, NC
- First Broad River at Lawndale, NC
- Yadkin River at Patterson, NC
- Elk Creek (NC) at Elkville, NC
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (HNRN7); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.