WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Belhaven Creek at Laurel Street at Jackson in MS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Belhaven Creek is a gauged river in the Middle Pearl-Strong watershed in Mississippi.
January is the typical high month here, at 2.55 ft (0.78 m). August is the typical low month, at 2.39 ft (0.73 m). That is a narrow spread, but even a small shift matters on a creek this size: docks, crossings, and small intakes will feel the difference between the yearly high water and the late-summer low.
The regional pattern fits Gulf lowland hydrology. Winter and spring rain tend to set the annual peaks, and slow drainage can keep water up for days. In practice, that means a rise in the wet season can linger longer than a short storm would suggest.
The record high is 10.5 ft (3.2 m), set in February 2020. The record low is 1.87 ft (0.57 m), set in March 2019. Those two readings show the range this reach has already handled in 11 years on record.
The typical annual swing is 1.9 in (4.9 cm). Compared with the record spread, that tells you the ordinary year is steady, but the station can still move sharply when conditions line up for a bigger rise. For anyone watching a bank, culvert, or intake, the record high is the level that defines the upper end of what this reach has shown.
This page’s hero number is today’s stage against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because a level means more when you can compare it with what is normal for this date.
The station is operated by the USGS, and it has 11 years of record. When you read the current level beside the day-of-year median, you can see whether the creek is running close to its usual band, above it, or below it for this time of year.
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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