Hydrology Information

Hydrology
Eastern North Carolina

Safety & Education
Additional Resources

The National Weather Service (NWS) has responsibility for the issuance of river forecasts and flood warnings. The NWS Newport/Morehead City office has hydrologic responsibility for 5 forecast points on streams and rivers covering anarea of eastern North Carolina.

To issue these river forecasts, local NWS offices rely upon forecast guidance generated by a regional NWS River Forecast Center (RFC). The RFCs use complex hydrologic computer models to forecast rivers. NWS Newport/Morehead City is serviced by the Southeast River Forecast Center in Peachtree City GA (SERFC) .

Flood Safety Information
Turn Around Don't Drown!
Use and Benefits of the National Weather Service River and Flood Forecasts
FloodSmart
FLASH (Federal Alliance for Safe Homes) - Strengthening Homes and Safeguarding Families
The USGS and COE operate most of their stream gages on a cooperative basis with other Federal, state, and local agencies that fund individual gaging stations for agency-specific projects or regulatory needs. For more information, see the USGS fact sheets, "Stream Gaging and Flood Forecasting, a Partnership of the USGS and the NWS" and"Streamflow Information for the Nation."
National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA)
NWS Directive: 10-940 Hydrologic Data Network Services
Glossary of Hydrologic Terms
Hydrology Job Information (pdf, 1.8Mb)

Rivers
Current and Forecast Information

Rainfall
Past, Current, and Forecast Precipitation Information

Most of the forecast points in the NWS Newport/Morehead City area have telemetered river gage equipment. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) own and/or maintain the vast majority of these river gages.

Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service - Recent observations and forecasts, as well as station information, for area rivers and lakes.
Daily River Stage Information

The forecasts of river stages is generated by complex computer models at the RFCs which incorporate many factors. The local NWS offices receive these river stage forecasts from the RFCs and generate public products under several headings:

River Flood Warning an initial product warning interests that a river is forecast to rise above flood stage.
River Flood Statement a followup product which updates a River Flood Warning.
List of all NWS Newport/Morehead City Hydrologic Text Products

Precipitation data is vital to river forecasting. Local NWS offices must supply the RFCs with precipitation data to input into their computer models. The SERFCprecipitation gage data is blended with precipitation estimates from a network of WSR-88D radars to produce cumulative precipitation maps. This processed data is one of the main inputs into the RFC's hydrologic model.

Current and Archived Precipitation for Eastern North Carolina
Current Hourly Precipitation Analysis

In the past, river forecasts were made strictly on the basis of rainfall which had occurred. Today, river forecasts incorporate quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) into the hydrologic model, as well. This has led to more accurate river forecasts, especially in the fall and winter months, when areal rainfall tends to be more uniform.