Rivers in North Carolina

French Broad River at Grove Bridge Rd, in Blantyre

Transylvania County, North CarolinaNWS BLAN7USGS 03443000Greer office

Below flood stage
5.40ftStage

Observed Thu, Sep 24, 5:30 AM EDT

Flood stage
16.00 ft
Forecast crest
7.00 ftThu, Sep 24, 8:00 PM EDT
Record crest
28.43 ft2024

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood23.00 ft
Moderate flood19.00 ft
Minor flood16.00 ft
Action15.00 ft
  1. 31.00 ftRecord Flooding continues. The bridge at Grove Bridge Rd. and the adjacent gauge site will be inundated.
  2. 27.10 ftRecord Flood Stage. At this level, floodwaters are likely impacting nearby homes and commercial buildings.
  3. 25.50 ftMajor Flooding continues. Floodwater levels will be similar to levels that occurred on September 9 , 2004 with Hurricane Frances.
  4. 23.00 ftMajor Flood Stage. Significant flooding of secondary roads is likely ongoing. Floodwaters may be inundating portions of US 64. Homes and commercial buildings within the vicinity of US 64 and adjacent secondary roads may be threatened by approaching or rising floodwaters. Floodwaters will reach levels similar to 1994 with Tropical Storm Beryl.
  5. 21.00 ftModerate Flooding continues. Significant flooding of farmland along the French Broad River is ongoing. Floodwaters are inundating River Rd. and Big Willow Rd. and are likely threatening other roads in the local area including Grove Bridge Rd., Pleasant Grove Rd. and Tally Rd. Floodwaters will be approaching levels similar to levels reached on September 22, 2009.
  6. 20.00 ftModerate Flooding continues. Significant flooding of farmland along the French Broad River is ongoing. Floodwaters may begin inundating the trailer park on River Ridge Rd. and may be impacting some buildings along US 64 north of Grove Bridge Rd.
  7. 19.01 ft...impacts continued from 19.0 statement... Floodwaters may be threatening a trailer park on River Ridge Rd. Floodwaters may be approaching buildings north of Grove Bridge Rd along US 64 and along the river near Brevard. Associated tributaries, including the Little River near Penrose, are likely experiencing significant flooding due to high water levels on the French Broad River.
  8. 19.00 ftModerate Flood Stage. Extensive flooding of the upper French Broad River Valley is ongoing, resulting in significant farmland inundation and affecting several roads between Rosman and Horse Shoe. Parts of Lyons Mountain Rd, Hannah Ford Rd, Green Rd, Island Ford Rd, Barclay Rd, Wilson Rd, Poplar Ln, River Rd, Pleasant Grove Rd, Butler Bridge Rd, and Big Willow Rd are likely inundated by at least 1-3 feet of floodwaters. Impacts continued in 19.01 statement...
  9. 18.00 ftMinor Flooding continues. Widespread farmland flooding between the French Broad River and the old railroad bed is ongoing. The river may be overtopping the old railroad bed near Fodderstack Mountain Rd. and River Ridge Rd. The intersection of River Rd. and Big Willow Rd. is inundated with several inches of water.
  10. 17.00 ftMinor Flooding continues. Floodwaters continue to inundate farmland between the French Broad River and the old railroad bed. Floodwaters may start to inundate the shoulders of River Road near the Big Willow Road intersection. Floodwaters continue to impact boat access areas at Grove Bridge Rd. and Crab Creek Rd.
  11. 16.00 ftMinor Flood Stage. Farmland flooding continues on both sides of the French Broad River. Floodwaters begin to impact boat access areas at Grove Bridge Rd. and Crab Creek Rd.
  12. 15.00 ftAction Stage. Most farm fields are flooding between the French Broad River and Brevard Rd. and between the French Broad River and Pleasant Grove Rd.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, September to November

CategoryChance
Minor flooding15%
Moderate flooding13%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 16, 2026.

Crest history

138 crests on NOAA’s list since 1901.

#DateStage
1September 28, 202428.43 ft
2July 16, 191627.10 ft
3September 9, 200425.81 ft
4October 4, 196425.50 ft
5August 18, 199423.81 ft
6August 13, 199423.00 ft
7August 16, 192822.90 ft
8January 8, 199822.61 ft
9March 5, 197922.01 ft
10January 23, 190622.00 ft
11August 13, 194021.88 ft
12December 29, 201821.70 ft
13May 28, 197321.41 ft
14September 30, 196421.27 ft
15May 29, 197621.12 ft
16February 13, 196621.11 ft
17September 22, 200921.08 ft
18August 31, 191021.00 ft
19June 5, 196720.90 ft
20August 24, 196720.75 ft
21August 19, 202120.74 ft
22October 17, 193220.68 ft
23March 13, 197720.46 ft
24October 12, 197020.41 ft
25January 10, 202420.27 ft

Most recent crests

  • December 30, 2024: 16.01 ft
  • September 28, 2024: 28.43 ft
  • January 10, 2024: 20.27 ft
  • December 27, 2023: 17.52 ft
  • August 19, 2021: 20.74 ft
  • February 14, 2020: 16.55 ft
  • February 8, 2020: 19.14 ft
  • December 29, 2018: 21.70 ft
  • May 18, 2018: 18.43 ft
  • February 13, 2018: 17.96 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.