Big Creek near Alpharetta water level

Name: Big Creek near Alpharetta 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, Big Creek, Georgia, United States

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

1.63ft Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 05:45 AM EDT (49 min ago)

Flow: 26.3 cfs

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

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

The forecast expects the river to fall to 1.60 ft by Tuesday, October 20 at 08:00 AM. Issued Monday, October 19 at 09:30 AM by NOAA National Weather Service.

What this means

Big Creek near Alpharetta is running below normal at 1.63 ft.

The median for mid-October is 2.02 ft, based on 29 years of readings, so the river stage is 0.39 ft below typical. It is 5.37 ft below the flood stage of 7.00 ft. On the same day last year the reading was 1.62 ft, a difference of +0.01 ft.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. The forecast expects the river to fall to 1.60 ft by Tuesday, October 20 at 08:00 AM. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 1.49 ft and 4.29 ft.

Compared with 29 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 2.02 ft0.39 ft below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.54 ft – 2.79 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (29 years of records)
Same day last year: 1.62 ft+0.01 ft
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.49 ft – 4.29 ft
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.49 ft – 8.48 ft
Highest on record: 13.05 ftFebruary 3, 1982
Forecast peak: 1.70 ftTuesday, October 20 at 02:00 AM

Floating and fishing near Big Creek near Alpharetta

Low water exposes gravel bars that make good wading access, but some boat ramps may be left high and dry.

Flood stage here is 7.00 ft, 5.37 ft above the current reading. Beyond it, the National Weather Service also defines moderate and major flood stages.

What happens at each level

19.00 ft: Catastrophic flooding occurs along the creek with water reaching the bottom of Kimball Bridge Road. Webb Bridge Road...McGinnis Ferry Road...Windward Parkway...Haynes Bridge Road...and Georgia 400 will be under a few feet of water. Apartments on Gran Crique Drive and Jameson Pass in Alpharetta and numerous homes on Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell will be flooded. Rock Mill Park will be completely under water. Flood waters begin to reach several buildings in the Northpoint Mall complex.
17.00 ft: Flooding never seen before will affect portions of Alpharetta along the creek. Webb Bridge Road...McGinnis Ferry Road...Haynes Bridge Road...Old Holcomb Bridge Road and Georgia 400 will be under water. Several apartments on Gran Crique Drive and numerous homes on Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell will be flooded. Flooding expands in the Rock Mill Park with water covering the concrete pad of the octagon pavilion and half of the parking lot. The Big Creek Greenway is flooded up to 11 feet deep.
15.00 ft: Record flooding continues upstream and downstream from Kimball Bridge Road. Flooding occurs on Webb Bridge Road...McGinnis Ferry Road...Haynes Bridge Road...Old Holcomb Bridge Road and Georgia 400. Flood waters enter several apartments on Gran Crique Drive and numerous homes on Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell. Flooding expands in the Rock Mill Park with water covering the concrete pad of the square pavilion and more of the parking lot. The Big Creek Greenway is flooded up to 9 feet deep.
14.00 ft: Record flooding occurs upstream and downstream from Kimball Bridge Road. Flooding occurs on Webb Bridge Road...McGinnis Ferry Road...Haynes Bridge Road and Old Holcomb Bridge Road. Flood waters enter several apartments on Gran Crique Drive and numerous homes on Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell. Flooding expands in the Rock Mill Park with the water covering the concrete pad of the square pavilion and more of the parking lot. The Big Creek Greenway is flooded up to 8 feet deep.
13.00 ft: Major flooding begins with water hitting a foot bridge just downstream of the gage on Kimball Bridge Road. Flooding begins on Webb Bridge Road...McGinnis Ferry Road and in the backyards of homes off Society Street. Flood waters reach the foundations of apartments on Gran Crique Drive...and homes on Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell. The Big Creek Greenway is flooded up to 7 feet deep. A large portion of Rock Mill Park is flooded and the lower end of the parking lot is affected.
12.00 ft: Significant flooding expands along the creek as water reaches the bottom of a foot bridge just downstream of the gage on Kimball Bridge Road. Backyards of homes off Seale Drive and Gunter Court and portions of the Golf Club of Georgia are under 3 feet of water. Backyards of homes off Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell will be under a foot of water. The Big Creek Greenway is flooded up to 6 feet deep. Flooding covers portions of Rock Mill Park and the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road.
11.00 ft: Moderate flooding begins and occurs upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road near Rock Mill Park. Backyards of homes off Seale Drive and Gunter Court and portions of the Golf Club of Georgia are under two feet of water. Backyards of homes off Jade Cove Circle and La View Circle near Roswell begin to flood. The Big Creek Greenway will be flooded up to 5 feet deep and will be closed. A large portion of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will be under 3 feet of water.
10.00 ft: Minor flooding expands along the creek from near Cumming to Alpharetta and Roswell. Backyards of homes off Seale Drive and Gunter Court and portions of the Golf of Georgia are under a foot of water. The Big Creek Greenway experiences significant flooding up to 4 feet deep with closure of the paths. This especially occurs upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road and Rock Mill Park. A large portion of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will be under a two feet of water.
9.00 ft: Minor flooding expands along the creek from near Cumming to Alpharetta and Roswell. Backyards of homes off Seale Drive and Gunter Court and portions of the Golf of Georgia begin to flood. The Big Creek Greenway experiences significant flooding up to 3 feet deep...which results in closure of most of the paths. This especially occurs upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road and Rock Mill Park. A large portion of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will be under a foot of water.
8.00 ft: Minor flooding continues to expand further into the woodlands and fields along the creek from near Cumming in south Forsyth County to Alpharetta and Roswell in north Fulton County. Additional portions of The Big Creek Greenway have minor flooding with 1 to 2 feet of water. Most of the walking and biking paths will be closed...especially upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road and near Rock Mill Park. Portions of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will flood.
7.00 ft: Flood Stage is reached. Minor flooding of woodlands and fields begin along the creek between Cumming in Forsyth County...to Alpharetta and Roswell in North Fulton County. Flooding starts to effect portions of The Big Creek Greenway near Alpharetta and some portions may become closed with around one foot of water...especially upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road and near Rock Mill Park. Portions of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will begin to flood.
6.00 ft: Bankfull conditions are reached along the creek between Cumming in Forsyth County...to Alpharetta and Roswell in North Fulton County. Some low lying spots along The Big Creek Greenway will begin to flood with a few inches of water upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road. Water will begin to enter low portions of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road.
1.63 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: 58 %.

Rank	Level	Date
1	13.05 ft	February 3, 1982
2	12.81 ft	March 17, 1990
3	12.54 ft	February 21, 1961
4	12.50 ft	September 22, 2009
5	12.30 ft	December 6, 1983
6	12.20 ft	March 30, 1977
7	11.97 ft	December 31, 1961
8	11.93 ft	September 17, 2004
9	11.82 ft	March 26, 1964
10	11.71 ft	January 13, 1993

Weather at the gauge

The forecast is not available right now.

Sunrise 07:47 AM Sunset 06:58 PM Daylight 11 hr, 11 min First quarter 67%

Map

Other gauges on Big Creek

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Big Creek at Big Creek Road near SaludaRiver gauge, Big Creek	63.87 ft	Normal	−0.06 ft	146 mi
Big Creek at GA 9, near CummingRiver gauge, Big Creek	−0.48 ft	Very low	+0.04 ft	8 mi
Big Creek below Hog Wallow Creek at RoswellRiver gauge, Big Creek	2.39 ft	Normal	−0.06 ft	5.3 mi

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Chattahoochee River above RoswellRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	3.56 ft	Normal	+0.53 ft	5.2 mi
Chattahoochee River near NorcrossRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	3.34 ft	Normal	+1.47 ft	5.3 mi
Crooked Creek near NorcrossRiver gauge, Crooked Creek	3.49 ft	Low	−0.01 ft	5.9 mi
Willeo Creek at GA 120, near RoswellRiver gauge, Willeo Creek	0.87 ft	Normal	−0.02 ft	8 mi
Dick Creek at Old Atlanta Road, near SuwaneeRiver gauge, Dick Creek	6.36 ft	Very high	+0.03 ft	8 mi
Chattahoochee River at Morgan Falls DamReservoir, Chattahoochee River	863.96 ft	Very low	−1.61 ft	9 mi
Chattahoochee River below Morgan Falls DamRiver gauge, Chattahoochee River	811.30 ft	Normal	+0.01 ft	9 mi
Chattahoochee R 0.76 Mi Us McGinnis Fy SuwaneeRiver gauge	2.01 ft	Low	+0.26 ft	9 mi

Questions and answers

Is Big Creek near Alpharetta higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.01 ft higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 1.62 ft.

What is flood stage for Big Creek near Alpharetta?

The official flood stage is 7.00 ft. The level is currently 5.37 ft below it.

What is a normal level for Big Creek near Alpharetta in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 2.02 ft. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.54 ft and 2.79 ft, based on 29 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 Big Creek near Alpharetta today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 05:45 AM EDT, the water level was 1.63 ft. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Big Creek near Alpharetta rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Down 0.41 ft over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Big Creek near Alpharetta normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 29 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:02335700 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 34.05056, -84.26944 (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	1.63 ft	2026-10-20 09:45	Provisional
Flow	26.3 cfs	2026-10-20 09:45	Provisional

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Big Creek near Alpharetta (usgs:02335700). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/georgia/big-creek-near-alpharetta

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