Pigeon River at Newport

1. 29.73 ftPreliminary Flood of Record from 2024 Helene event according to USGS analysis. Water inundates Grace Baptist Church to the lowest gutters; nearby houses inundated with nearly 4 to 6 feet of water. Large swath of downtown Newport including East Broadway and East Main flood with up to a foot or two of water, between N Jefferson Ave and Bear Ave, entering numerous buildings with street-level floors. Inundation of the East Broadway and TN-73 intersection but the Dollar General, mansion, and bridge do not flood.
2. 28.00 ftFlooding of City Hall main floor begins. The Courthouse Annex may also be threatened with water.
3. 27.50 ftFlooding of dance studio building next door to City Hall begins.
4. 23.40 ftPrevious Flood of Record from 1902. Water is perhaps beginning to enter Grace Baptist Church on TN-73 and adjacent houses.
5. 18.00 ftLevel of berm in yard on right bank, across from gage. No damage to house, but Jimtown Road impassable. Water is getting into a few parking spaces at Grace Baptist Church on TN-73 and adjacent front yards of houses. Water begins to enter the bottom floor of a church on River Road. A building behind the Newport Police on Main Street may begin to take water (this building was wrecked by Helene floodwaters inundating at least the entire first floor).
6. 17.00 ftPortions of State Road TN-73 south of Newport become flooded.
7. 16.50 ftFlooding along Pleasant Grove Road near Edwina expands.
8. 14.50 ftFlooding of low spots along Pleasant Grove Road near farm land in Edwina.
9. 14.00 ftFlooding occurs on the north side of River Street in Newport. The river walk behind Main Street in downtown Newport begins to take water in places.
10. 8.00 ftMinor flooding occurs downstream from gage on Highway 25/70 and in the community of Edwina. Jimtown Road may be affected.

Chance of flooding, September to November

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

Most recent crests

• August 3, 2025: 8.25 ft
• April 8, 2025: 9.30 ft
• February 13, 2025: 12.06 ft
• December 29, 2024: 11.47 ft
• September 27, 2024: 29.73 ft
• January 9, 2024: 14.19 ft
• February 17, 2023: 8.00 ft
• May 27, 2022: 13.61 ft
• February 23, 2022: 11.28 ft
• February 4, 2022: 12.17 ft

• UpstreamPigeon River at Waterville NC near Hartford TN
• DownstreamFrench Broad River at Douglas Dam
• French Broad River at Newport
• Nolichucky River at Lowland
• East Fork Little Pigeon River 3SSE Fair Garden (Oma Lee)
• Web Creek
• Little Pigeon River
• Nolichucky River at Nolichucky Dam HW near Greenville 8SSW
• Little Pigeon River

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.

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.