Watauga River near Sugar Grove Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Watauga River near Sugar Grove in NC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NC, United States
- Watershed watauga north carolina tennessee
- Primary gauge 03479000 (USGS)
About Watauga River near Sugar Grove
Watauga River near Sugar Grove sits in the Watauga, North Carolina, Tennessee watershed in North Carolina.
Season by season
This gauge’s seasonal pattern is simple: March is usually the highest month, at 2.13 ft (0.65 m), and September is usually the lowest month, at 1.58 ft (0.48 m). The typical annual swing is 6.5 in (16.6 cm), so the river’s day-to-day level changes are usually modest compared with its record range.
For people using the river, that means spring generally gives the most water under the boat or at the intake, while late summer and early fall are the tighter part of the year. In a rain-driven system, the big moves usually come with storm periods, and the quieter stretches sit between them.
Records and rises
The record high is 17.07 ft (5.2 m), set in September 2024. The record low is 1.14 ft (0.35 m), set in September 2002.
Those two numbers show the spread this river can cover at this station. The record high is far above the usual seasonal range, which matters for docks, low crossings, and any fixed intake set close to the channel. The record low shows how much the river can contract in late-season conditions.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so the warning window for sudden runoff cannot be stated from the facts on this page.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running normal for this date, high, or low for this point in the year.
This station is a USGS site, and the record spans about 50 years. For cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching access or water supply, the calendar-day median gives context that a single height value does not.
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
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
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Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
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
