Tar River at Louisburg, NC
River level and flood forecast · Franklin County
The river is 16.1 ft below flood stage (20 ft).
Forecast to fall to 3.2 ft by Sat, Oct 17, 8 AM.
Flow: 52 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 11:22 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 23 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 22 ft |
| Flood stage | 20 ft |
| Action stage | 20 ft |
| Record crest (September 17, 1999) | 26.05 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 37 ftWater reaches the road surface of the US401 bridge.
- 34 ftSouth Main Street bridge is flooded to a depth of approximately 5 feet.
- 29 ftWater reaches the road level of the Main Street bridge. Flooding reaches businesses on Main and Nash Streets. The grounds of the Louisburg wastewater treatment plant (near the mouth of Fox swamp) is covered with water.
- 25 ftSignificant flooding at businesses along Johnson, Court, Elm, and Short Streets.
- 23 ftMajor flooding begins. Homes and businesses along Johnson Street flood.
- 22 ftModerate flooding begins. Flooding begins in Pruitt and Shannon Villages on the east side of town.
- 20 ftMinor flooding begins. Banks overflow at Main Street. River Bend Park is flooded and storm drains are inundated along the river.
- 18 ftBankfull in the vicinity of Main Street. Minor flooding begins in River Bend Park 0.1 miles upstream of Main Street.
Highest crests on record
- 26.05 ft — September 17, 1999
- 25.34 ft — September 7, 1996
- 24.36 ft — April 28, 1978
- 23.25 ft — October 10, 2016
- 23.23 ft — August 9, 2024
Recent crests: 23.23 ft (August 9, 2024) · 20.59 ft (December 26, 2020) · 22.03 ft (November 14, 2018) · 18.43 ft (October 13, 2018) · 20.98 ft (September 19, 2018)
Up and down the river, and nearby
- UpstreamTar River near Tar River, NC
- DownstreamTar River at NC97 In Rocky Mount, NC
- Tar River at NC581 Nr Spring Hope, NC
- Little River (NC) near Zebulon, NC
- Neuse River Below Falls Dam, NC
- Little Fishing Creek near Ringwood, NC
- Marsh Creek (NC) at New Hope, NC
- Crabtree Creek at Capitol Blvd (US Rt 1), NC
- Crabtree Creek at Old Wake Forest Road, NC
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (LOUN7); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.