Yadkin River at Wilkesboro Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Yadkin River at Wilkesboro in NC, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NC, United States
- Watershed upper yadkin
- Primary gauge 02112000 (USGS)
About Yadkin River at Wilkesboro
The Yadkin River at Wilkesboro sits in the Upper Yadkin watershed, North Carolina.
What the record shows
The record at this USGS station spans more than 50 years. The highest stage on file is 13.12 ft (4 m) in September 2024. The lowest is 1.6 ft (0.49 m) in August 2008.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. April is the typical high month at 2.92 ft (0.89 m), while October is the typical low month at 2.28 ft (0.7 m). That leaves a typical annual swing of 7.7 in (19.5 cm).
For someone with a dock, pump intake, or shallow landing, that spread matters. It is not a large seasonal range, but it is enough to change clearance, shoreline access, and how close the river runs to low-water marks. The record high is much farther above the usual April stage than the record low is below the usual October stage, so this river can still move outside its normal band when conditions line up.
The watershed
The station drains 504 square miles (1,305 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Upper Yadkin watershed.
This is a river where seasonal rhythm is important. In this part of the country, winter and spring rains usually set the higher stages, while warm-season lows tend to show up between storms. That pattern helps explain why April sits above October in the record, even though individual events can push the river well beyond its typical range.
For anglers, the useful point is that the river does not stay at one working level for long. For cottagers and landowners near the bank, the difference between the typical high and low months is a practical guide to where water usually stands through the year.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the live stage compared with the median for this calendar day in the USGS record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a stage of 6 ft (1.8 m) means something different in January than it does in October.
With more than 50 years on record, the median gives a better read on whether the river is running ordinary, low, or high for this date at Wilkesboro.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
