Tar River at Greenville Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Tar River at Greenville in NC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NC, United States
- Watershed lower tar
- Primary gauge 02084000 (USGS)
About Tar River at Greenville
Tar River at Greenville is a gauged river in the Lower Tar watershed in North Carolina.
The watershed
The gauge drains 2660 sq mi (6889 km2) above the station, so what happens here reflects a large upstream area rather than just the channel beside one bank. For people watching a dock, a pump, or a low crossing, that catchment size matters: the river can rise on rain that falls well away from Greenville.
This reach follows a seasonal pattern that is strongest in March, when the typical level is 6.27 ft (1.91 m), and lowest in July, when the typical level is 3.95 ft (1.2 m). That gap is part of the daily reality of the river. A summer low can leave more bar exposed, shrink the working depth at a landing, and change where fish hold.
What the numbers say
The station record runs for 42 years, and within that span the river has shown a wide range. The record high is 29.66 ft (9.04 m), reached in September 1999. The record low is 1.83 ft (0.56 m), reached in November 1987.
The typical annual swing is 27.8 in (70.6 cm). That is not a small year-to-year ripple; it is a level change that a shoreline user notices. A canoe landing, a fixed intake, or a shallow gravel reach has to tolerate that movement over the course of the year.
The broader regional pattern fits the season note here: winter and spring rains tend to build the annual peaks, while warm-season lows show up between storms. In this part of the country, hurricane-season systems can also bring sharp rises.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because a level that looks ordinary in March may be high for July, and a level that looks low in March may be normal for late summer.
For this station, the reading is judged against a record of more than 42 years from the U.S. Geological Survey. That long record gives the comparison context: it shows whether today is sitting near the usual band for this date, or pushing toward the river’s higher or lower end.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
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Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
