WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Bayou Bartholomew near McGehee in AR, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Bayou Bartholomew near McGehee sits in the Bayou Bartholomew watershed in Arkansas.
The station drains 576 sq mi (1,492 km2) upstream of the gauge. For people watching water levels here, that is the area that feeds the reading at this point, not the whole named watershed.
This part of the region follows a winter-spring flood rhythm, with rain driving the higher water season, and with streams that can rise quickly in uplands and fall more slowly on low ground. That seasonal pattern matters for access, bank work, and any intake or dock that has to stay usable through changing stages.
The record high is 25.18 ft (7.67 m), set in March 2016. The record low is 0.55 ft (0.17 m), set in November 2024. Those two marks show the range this station has seen over the record.
Seasonally, the bayou is typically highest in April at 12.61 ft (3.85 m) and lowest in October at 2.16 ft (0.66 m). The typical annual swing is 10.5 ft (3.19 m). For a dock, landing, or shallow crossing, that spread is the difference between comfortable water and a tight margin.
The station has 50 years on record, so these are not one-off extremes. They are the levels locals can plan around.
The hero number on this page is most useful when read against the median for the same calendar day across the station record, not as a raw elevation. A stage that is high for February can be ordinary for spring, and a low reading can matter more when it sits below the day’s normal median than when it just looks small by itself.
This station is published by the USGS. With more than 50 years of record, the daily median gives a better handle on where the bayou stands now relative to its usual seasonal position.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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