Neuse River level at Clayton
North Carolina · Flood watch
Measured at USGS 02087500 — NEUSE RIVER NEAR CLAYTON, NC · NWS forecast point CLYN7
Reading taken · as of 48 min ago
Below normal for the date
At 234 CFS, this gauge is running 66% of normal for mid-September — below the 356 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 43 years of record (1983–2026).
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Flood stages at Clayton
National Weather Service categories for gauge CLYN7, WFO RAH. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
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Major flood 16.0 ft
- 16.0 ft Major flooding begins.
- 18.0 ft Castleberry Road off NC-42 is flooded and flood waters approach the entrance to East Clayton Elementary School.
- 22.0 ft Flooding reaches the lower concrete span of the bridge on Covered Bridge Road.
- 26.0 ft The grounds of the pumping station begin to flood.
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Moderate flood 13.0 ft
- 13.0 ft Flooding will close the Neuse River Greenway trail.
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Minor flood 9.0 ft
- 9.0 ft Minor flooding begins. Minor overflow occurs on both banks. Water reaches the edge of the Neuse River Greenway trail.
- 10.0 ft Upstream of the gage site, the Neuse River Greenway at Covered Bridge Road begins to flood.
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Action 8.0 ft
- Right now 1.26 ft
NWS forecast: 1.40 ft by .
Flow history at Clayton
Daily values from USGS 02087500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for CLYN7 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Clayton
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 22.12 ft | 22,900 CFS | Sep 19, 1945 |
| 21.62 ft | 22,000 CFS | Oct 3, 1929 |
| 21.15 ft | 21,200 CFS | Jul 23, 1919 |
| 20.67 ft | 20,500 CFS | Sep 17, 1999 |
| 20.48 ft | 20,900 CFS | Oct 9, 2016 |
| 20.12 ft | 19,700 CFS | Sep 7, 1996 |
| 19.31 ft | 18,219 CFS | Apr 26, 2017 |
| 18.70 ft | 17,000 CFS | Dec 1, 1934 |
| 18.32 ft | 16,400 CFS | Mar 20, 1975 |
| 17.93 ft | 15,900 CFS | Feb 4, 1973 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Neuse River at Clayton
The reference gauge for this reach in North Carolina — what local emergency managers and the National Weather Service watch when the river comes up. Falls Lake releases; Raleigh metro flash-flood exposure.
Neuse River at Clayton — common questions
3 questions
What is flood stage at Clayton?
The National Weather Service sets minor flood stage at this gauge at 9.0 ft, moderate at 13.0 ft, and major at 16.0 ft. Action stage — the level at which agencies begin preparing — is 8.0 ft. The ladder on this page shows each threshold against the current reading, with the NWS's own impact statements at each level.
Is Neuse River at Clayton high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 356 CFS, from 43 years of record (1983–2026). Today is 66% 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 02087500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for CLYN7 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.