Rivers in New Hampshire

Smith River (NH) at Bristol

Merrimack County, New HampshireNWS BRSN3USGS 01078000Gray office

Below flood stage
2.80ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 29, 1:30 PM EDT

Flood stage
8.00 ft
Forecast crest
3.00 ftWed, Sep 30, 8:00 AM EDT
Record crest
16.09 ft1936

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood14.00 ft
Moderate flood12.00 ft
Minor flood8.00 ft
Action6.00 ft
  1. 16.00 ftSmith River Road floods in several locations from Bristol to Danbury.
  2. 14.00 ftFlooding begins on Smith River Road.
  3. 12.00 ftPrime farmland flooded from Bristol to Danbury.
  4. 8.00 ftMinor lowland flooding begins.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, October to December

CategoryChance
Minor flooding7%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 28, 2026.

Crest history

18 crests on NOAA’s list since 1934.

#DateStage
1March 19, 193616.09 ft
2May 14, 200611.41 ft
3September 22, 193810.77 ft
4March 27, 195310.44 ft
5April 12, 193410.37 ft
6April 1, 198710.21 ft
7June 30, 19739.27 ft
8October 21, 19968.99 ft
9April 3, 19518.91 ft
10April 17, 20078.65 ft
11August 8, 19908.54 ft
12May 31, 19848.41 ft
13April 19, 19698.33 ft
14December 18, 20238.27 ft
15April 4, 20058.22 ft
16August 29, 20118.18 ft
17October 24, 19598.16 ft
18March 15, 19778.11 ft

Most recent crests

  • December 18, 2023: 8.27 ft
  • August 29, 2011: 8.18 ft
  • April 17, 2007: 8.65 ft
  • May 14, 2006: 11.41 ft
  • April 4, 2005: 8.22 ft
  • October 21, 1996: 8.99 ft
  • August 8, 1990: 8.54 ft
  • April 1, 1987: 10.21 ft
  • May 31, 1984: 8.41 ft
  • March 15, 1977: 8.11 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Northeast River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round.

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.