Tar River at Tarboro, NC
River level and flood forecast · Edgecombe County
The river is 17.7 ft below flood stage (19 ft).
Forecast to hold near 1.3 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 8 AM.
Flow: 95 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 | 32 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 24 ft |
| Flood stage | 19 ft |
| Action stage | 17 ft |
| Record crest (September 19, 1999) | 41.51 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 38.6 ftThis is the highest elevation of the Princeville levee. Flooding becomes widespread in Princeville. The traffic circle in Tarboro on US64 at the bridge over the Tar river is flooded. Flooding begins on Albemarle Avenue and St Andrews Street.
- 37 ftFailure may be expected at the Princeville levee and flooding begins in the town of Princeville. There is also considerable street flooding in Tarboro, including Daniels, Baker, St James, and Granville streets.
- 34.6 ftWater reaches the base of the Princeville levee.
- 33.6 ftThis is the elevation of the railroad bed which cuts through the Princeville levee. The emergency gate must be manually installed to prevent water from flowing into the town of Princeville.
- 32 ftMajor flooding begins. Baker and St James Street begin to flood.
- 24 ftModerate flooding begins. River Road in Tarboro is underwater and flooding begins on east Wilson and St David Streets.
- 20 ftLowland flooding begins south of Daniel Street in east Tarboro.
- 19 ftMinor flooding begins. The Riverside Park and River Road at the US64 bridge flood.
- 17 ftThe river is at bankfull.
Highest crests on record
- 41.51 ft — September 19, 1999
- 36.29 ft — October 13, 2016
- 34 ft — July 27, 1919
- 31.77 ft — August 20, 1940
- 29.17 ft — May 12, 1958
Recent crests: 21.14 ft (March 21, 2025) · 19.14 ft (October 1, 2024) · 25.42 ft (August 15, 2024) · 27.47 ft (February 21, 2021) · 20.01 ft (February 4, 2021)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (TARN7); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.