Catawba River level at Lookout Shoals
North Carolina · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 0214244102 — CATAWBA RIVER BL LOOKOUT SHOALS DAM NR SHARON, NC
Reading taken · as of 18 min ago
Below normal — good wading, low and clear
At 838 CFS, this gauge is running 61% of normal for mid-September — below the 1,380 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 10 years of record (2016–2026).
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Flow history at Lookout Shoals
Daily values from USGS 0214244102, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About Catawba River at Lookout Shoals
In North Carolina, below Lake Hickory. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lake Hickory. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Catawba River at Lookout Shoals — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lake Hickory affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Catawba River at Lookout Shoals high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 1,380 CFS, from 10 years of record (2016–2026). Today is 61% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 0214244102 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.