Rivers in South Carolina

Lumber River near Nichols

Horry County, South CarolinaNWS NICS1USGS 02134900Wilmington office

Below flood stage
10.98ftStage

Observed Fri, Sep 25, 3:00 PM EDT

Flood stage
20.00 ft
Forecast crest
11.20 ftSun, Sep 27, 8:00 PM EDT
Record crest
27.36 ft2018

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood26.00 ft
Moderate flood25.00 ft
Minor flood20.00 ft
Action18.00 ft
  1. 28.00 ftExtensive flooding along the river. Nearly all of Nichols will be flooded. Road access to Nichols will be limited to US Rte 76 coming in from the east. Flooding on Mullins ST extends from near AWT RD to Fork Retch CT. River RD and Drowning Creek DR have several feet of water on them. In Fork Retch, nearly all of Fork Retch CT is flooded and the water is several feet deep along much of the road. Water levels will be worse than those seen after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.
  2. 27.00 ftExtensive flooding along the river. Nearly all of Nichols will be flooded. Road access to Nichols will be limited to US Rte 76 coming in from the east. Flooding on Mullins ST extends from near AWT RD to Fork Retch CT. River RD and Drowning Creek DR have several feet of water on them. In Fork Retch,nearly all of Fork Retch CT is flooded and the water is several feet deep along much of the road. Water levels will be similar to those seen after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.
  3. 26.00 ftExtensive flooding along the river. All parts of Nichols will be flooded and many areas will be isolated. Nearly every road is flooded and some may be impassable,but parts of town will remain dry. Road access to Nichols may be limited to US Rte 76 coming in from the east. Flooding on Mullins ST extends from near AWT RD to Fork Retch CT. River RD and Drowning Creek DR have several feet of water on them. In Fork Retch,nearly all of Fork Retch CT is flooded with water several feet deep along much of the road.
  4. 25.00 ftFlooding reaches Pee Dee Street, S Nichols Street, South Main Street, Kemper Road, Canal ST and Tupelo Street. Flooding begins along North Nichols Street and worsens along Maple Street and in areas along and east of Mullins ST. Part of the railroad in town may be flooded. All of River Road and Drowning Creek Drive may only be accessible by boat. In Fork Retch, the community may only be accessible by boat due to deep water on Wildlife Action RD and Fork Retch CT near RD Island CT.
  5. 24.00 ftFlooding begins along Pee Dee Street, South Nichols Street, North Nichols Street, South Main Street, Kemper Road, Tupelo Street, and along Mullins Street near Awt Road. Flooding worsens along Maple Street and Awt Road. River Road and Drowning Creek Drive may only be accessible by boat.
  6. 23.00 ftFlooding worsens on River Road,Drowning Creek Drive,Averette RD,and AWT RD. Pee Dee Island RD and Page RD flood. Flooding begins along Waccamaw Street,Maple Street,N Main ST,and other low areas east of Mullins ST. Canal ST and Kemper RD may flood. As the water rises toward 24 FT,W Pee Dee ST,S Main ST,and S Nichols ST may flood. River Road and Drowning Creek DR on the Horry County side may only be accessible only by boat. In Fork Retch,Fork Retch CT will flood near Rhode Island CT and south of Tidewater CT.
  7. 22.00 ftRiver Road and Drowning Creek Road are almost completely flooded and residences in the area may be cutoff by flooding. Flooding may begin along Averette RD and AWT RD in Nichols. Flooding worsens in Fork Retch and Wildlife Action RD may flood near Fork Retch CT. As the water rises toward 23 feet, Pee Dee Island RD and Page RD may flood in Nichols.
  8. 21.00 ftFlooding worsens along River Road and begins along Drowning Creek Dr. The Fork Retch community downstream of Nichols will experience minor flooding.
  9. 20.00 ftMinor flooding along River Road east of Nichols on the Horry County side of the river. Structures in the lowlands accessible by unpaved roads nearer the river will likely be isolated. Downstream of Nichols, low areas in Fork Retch may flood.
  10. 19.00 ftFlooding of lowlands along the river and nearby tributaries begins.

Crest history

35 crests on NOAA’s list since 2016.

#DateStage
1September 20, 201827.36 ft
2October 11, 201627.02 ft
3August 10, 202424.08 ft
4February 21, 202122.40 ft
5November 17, 202021.69 ft
6December 19, 201821.30 ft
7June 1, 202021.00 ft
8September 3, 202320.85 ft
9January 6, 202120.63 ft
10February 11, 202020.61 ft
11June 19, 202020.61 ft
12December 21, 202320.30 ft
13November 24, 201820.08 ft
14September 30, 202019.74 ft
15January 5, 201919.71 ft
16June 12, 202019.62 ft
17December 29, 202019.46 ft
18February 7, 202119.43 ft
19December 29, 201919.36 ft
20January 18, 202019.30 ft
21April 20, 201919.28 ft
22March 10, 201919.22 ft
23October 12, 202019.11 ft
24January 15, 202419.10 ft
25March 11, 202418.84 ft

Most recent crests

  • September 28, 2024: 18.27 ft
  • August 10, 2024: 24.08 ft
  • March 11, 2024: 18.84 ft
  • January 15, 2024: 19.10 ft
  • December 21, 2023: 20.30 ft
  • September 3, 2023: 20.85 ft
  • February 17, 2023: 18.51 ft
  • October 8, 2022: 14.63 ft
  • March 30, 2022: 16.84 ft
  • April 1, 2021: 18.04 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Southeast 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 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.