Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw water level

Name: Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw water level (U.S. Geological Survey)
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
License: https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits

River gauge, Northeast Cape Fear River, North Carolina, United States

Directions

Normal for late October

Water level

2.60ft Up 0.27 ft over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 21, 2026, 04:30 AM EDT (1 hour ago)

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Minor flood stage

What this means

Water levels are unremarkable at Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw, where the gauge shows 2.60 ft.

The median for late October is 2.39 ft, based on 27 years of readings, so the river stage is 0.21 ft above typical. It is 7.40 ft below the flood stage of 10.00 ft. On the same day last year the reading was 2.49 ft, a difference of +0.11 ft.

It is on the way up, by 0.27 ft over the past 24 hours. There is still 7.40 ft of room before flood stage. The 30-day range is 0.93 ft – 3.07 ft.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, until steadier rain returns.

Compared with 27 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 2.39 ft0.21 ft above the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.77 ft – 6.14 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (27 years of records)
Same day last year: 2.49 ft+0.11 ft
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.93 ft – 3.07 ft
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.95 ft – 4.29 ft
Highest on record: 25.58 ftSeptember 19, 2018
Lowest on record: −0.50 ftDecember 17, 2007

Paddling and fishing conditions

Most paddlers and anglers will find the river in good shape at this stage.

For reference, flood stage is 10.00 ft.

What happens at each level

26.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river including tributaries. Impassable roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,Hwy 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne,Interstate 40,and Island Creek RD. Old River RD in Morgan Cove will flood. Homes in all of these areas may flood.
25.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river including tributaries. Impassable roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,Hwy 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne,Interstate 40,and Island Creek RD. Old River RD in Morgan Cove will flood. Homes in all of these areas may flood.
24.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend, River Birch, Alligator Lake, Holly Shelter Estates, and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river including tributaries. Flooded roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,Hwy 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne,Interstate 40,and Island Creek RD. Old River RD in Morgan Cove will flood. Homes in all of these areas will flood.
23.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river including tributaries. Flooded roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,Hwy 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne,Interstate 40,and Island Creek RD. Old River Road in Morgan Cove will flood. Homes in these areas may flood.
22.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river including tributaries. Flooded roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,Hwy 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,and Island Creek RD. Homes in these areas may flood. Low areas along Old River RD in Morgan Cove and Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne will flood.
21.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river and tributaries. Flooded roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,HWY 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,and Island Creek RD. Homes in these areas may flood. Low areas along Old River RD in Morgan Cove begin to flood. Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne will flood.
20.00 ft: Extensive flooding in River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and along the length of the river and tributaries. Flooded roads include Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD,River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,Oxbow,Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,HWY 53,Stag Park RD,Hwy 210,and Island Creek RD. Homes in these areas may flood. Hwy 117 near Castle Hayne and low areas along Old River RD in Morgan Cove may begin to flood.
19.00 ft: Extensive flooding of River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend and on Croomsbridge RD and Old Maple Hill RD. The ends of River RD near Wallace,Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,and Oxbow Landing are cutoff by floodwaters. Shaw Hwy ,Whitestocking RD,Hwy 53,Hwy 210 near Lanes Ferry,Stage Park Rd,and Island Creek Rd near Island Creek are impassable. Equine Acres Country Estates flooding worsens. Water may get into homes in some of these areas.
18.00 ft: Extensive flooding of River Bend, River Birch, Alligator Lake, Holly Shelter Estates, and Sandy Bend and Croomsbridge RD and Old Maple Hill RD. The ends of River RD near Wallace, Turtle Hill TR, Hickory Hill LN, White Tail LN, Mallard Roost DR, and Oxbow Landing are cutoff by flooding. Shaw Hwy, White Stocking RD, and Hwy 53 are impassable. Homes may flood in these areas. Hwy 210 at Lanes Ferry, Stag Park Road, and Island Creek Road at Island Creek will flood. Equine Acres Country Estates flooding worsens.
17.00 ft: Flooding deepens in River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend. The ends of Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,and Oxbow Landing will be cutoff by flooding. Croomsbridge RD,Old Maple Hill RD.Shaw Hwy,White Stocking RD,and Hwy 53 are impassable in multiple locations. Water may get into some homes. Hwy 210 at Lanes Ferry,Stag Park RD at Cypress and Burgaw Creeks,and Island Creek at Island Creek will flood. Equine Landing Rd and Mustang Pt are flooded.
16.00 ft: Flooding worsens in River Bend, River Birch, Alligator Lake, Holly Shelter Estates, and Sandy Bend and on Croomsbridge RD and Old Maple Hill RD. The ends of Turtle Hill TR, Hickory Hill LN, White Tail LN, Mallard Roost DR, and Oxbow Landing may be cutoff by floodwaters. Shaw Hwy, White Stocking RD, and Island Creek RD at Island Creek are flooded. Hwy 53 will be impassable. Hwy 210 at Lanes Ferry and Stag Park RD at Cypress and Burgaw Creeks may begin to flood. Equine Landing Rd and Mustang Pt may flood.
15.00 ft: Flooding deepens in the River Bend,River Birch,Alligator Lake,Holly Shelter Estates,and Sandy Bend subdivisions and on Croomsbridge RD and Old Maple Hill RD. The ends of Turtle Hill TR,Hickory Hill LN,White Tail LN,Mallard Roost DR,and Oxbow Landing may be cutoff by floodwaters. Shaw Hwy between Carl Meeks RD and Lillington Ln and White Stocking RD from Chorley RD to Mack Williams Ln are flooded. Island Creek RD may flood at Island Creek. Hwy 53 may be impassable. Equine Acres Country Estates may flood.
2.60 ft: Right now

Impact statements from the U.S. National Weather Service.

Highest crests on record

Chance of at least minor flooding in October to December: 6 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	25.58 ft	September 19, 2018
2	22.77 ft	September 20, 1999
3	17.83 ft	October 13, 2016
4	16.66 ft	September 5, 2006
5	16.51 ft	August 13, 2024
6	15.70 ft	February 22, 2021
7	15.41 ft	November 26, 2006
8	15.32 ft	October 4, 2010
9	14.63 ft	February 10, 2016
10	13.73 ft	November 17, 2020

Weather at the gauge

The forecast is not available right now.

Sunrise 07:23 AM Sunset 06:31 PM Daylight 11 hr, 8 min Waxing gibbous 76%

Map

Other gauges on the Northeast Cape Fear River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Northeast Cape Fear River near ChinquapinRiver gauge, Northeast Cape Fear River	2.08 ft	Low	−0.05 ft	16 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Black River near TomahawkRiver gauge, Black River	2.21 ft	Low	−0.11 ft	26 mi
New River near Gum BranchRiver gauge, New River	2.45 ft	Low	−0.11 ft	27 mi
Cape Fear River at Lock 1 near KellyRiver gauge, Cape Fear River	14.82 ft	Low	+0.01 ft	27 mi
Trent River near TrentonRiver gauge, Trent River	3.59 ft	Normal	−0.02 ft	40 mi
Trent River at PollocksvilleRiver gauge, Trent River	2.63 ft	Below flood stage	+0.26 ft	47 mi
Waccamaw River at FreelandRiver gauge, Waccamaw River	1.96 ft	Low	−0.08 ft	52 mi

Questions and answers

Is the Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.11 ft higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 2.49 ft.

What is flood stage for the Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw?

The official flood stage is 10.00 ft. The level is currently 7.40 ft below it.

What is a normal level for the Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw in late October?

The median for late October is 2.39 ft. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.77 ft and 6.14 ft, based on 27 years of records.

Is gage height the same as water depth?

No. Gage height is measured from a fixed reference point chosen by the agency, so a reading of 10 ft does not mean the river is 10 ft deep.

What is the water level of Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw today?

On Oct 21, 2026, 04:30 AM EDT, the water level was 2.60 ft. Up 0.27 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw rising or falling?

Up 0.27 ft over the last 24 hours. Up 0.08 ft over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw normal?

Normal for late October. Compared with 27 years of daily readings for this time of year.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:02108566 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 34.59833, -77.87528 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: NAVD88
Update interval: every 15 minutes
Licence: Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	2.60 ft	2026-10-21 08:30	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Northeast Cape Fear River near Burgaw (usgs:02108566). Accessed October 21, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/north-carolina/northeast-cape-fear-river-near-burgaw

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer