Watauga River at Aldridge Road

Highest listed crest 9.00 ftFlood stage 6.0 ft1 crests since 2026

The Watauga River at Aldridge Road crested above flood stage 1 time among the 1 crests the National Weather Service lists from 2026 to 2026. The highest, 9.00 ft on October 11, 2026, was moderate flooding, 3.00 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Watauga River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 9.00 ft; October 11, 2026
Flood stage: 6.0 ft; Major flooding from 12.0 ft
Crests at major: 0; 1 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest: October 11, 2026; 9.00 ft, moderate flooding
Location: Watauga County; Near Boone (8.4 mi)
Identifiers: NWS WRAN7; No USGS station

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Watauga River at Aldridge Road

Action stage	5.0	0	—	The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)	6.0	0	—	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	9.0	1	Oct 11, 2026	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	12.0	0	—	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

1 crests from 2026 to 2026. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Watauga River at Aldridge Road

1	Oct 11, 2026	9.00	+3.00	Moderate	—

The worst floods along the Watauga River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Watauga River that crested above flood stage within a week.

October 11, 2026: 9.00 ft here, moderate flooding

FoscoeNC · Oct 11, 2026 · 10.37 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Watauga River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Watauga River

Aldridge Road this gauge	NC	6.0	9.00 ft, Oct 11, 2026	0
Elizabethton	TN	8.5	21.00 ft, May 21, 1901	6
Foscoe	NC	9.0	11.96 ft, May 19, 2018	0
Sugar Grove	NC	6.0	29.60 ft, Aug 13, 1940	5

Other gauges in Watauga County

Flood gauges in Watauga County

Broadstone Road	6.0	8.16 ft, Oct 11, 2026	0
Deerfield Road	4.5	7.95 ft, Oct 11, 2026	0
Deerfield Road	5.0	6.29 ft, Oct 11, 2026	0
Boone	12.0	12.28 ft, Oct 23, 2017	0
US Hwy 221	23.0	25.71 ft, Sep 27, 2024	0
Foscoe	9.0	11.96 ft, May 19, 2018	0
Sugar Grove	6.0	29.60 ft, Aug 13, 1940	5
Meadowview Drive in Boone	9.2	16.30 ft, Sep 27, 2024	1

Watauga County: every hazard · River floods across the country · North Carolina

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WRAN7, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.