Big Sandy Creek near Havre MT Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Big Sandy Creek near Havre MT in MT, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MT, United States
- Watershed big sandy 0005
- Primary gauge 06139500 (USGS)
About Big Sandy Creek near Havre MT
Big Sandy Creek near Havre MT is in the Big Sandy watershed in Montana.
What the record shows
The station record runs for 42 years. The highest level in that record is 13.73 ft (4.18 m), reached in April 2018. The lowest is 0.83 ft (0.25 m), reached in July 2021.
The seasonal pattern is fairly steady. The highest typical month is March at 3.53 ft (1.08 m), and the lowest typical month is September at 2.25 ft (0.69 m). That is a typical annual swing of 15.4 in (39.2 cm). For people with pumps, crossings, or a shallow intake, that swing is the part to watch, because the creek does not sit at one fixed level through the year.
The watershed
The gauge drains 1,787 sq mi (4,628 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Big Sandy watershed.
In this part of Montana, the seasonal shape fits the regional pattern: higher water tends to come in late winter and spring, then lower water arrives later in the warm season. On this creek, March is the usual high point and September the usual low point. That matters for irrigation timing, gravel access, and fish habitat in shallow reaches, because the difference between those months is part of normal operation here, not an exception.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day from the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because a level can look ordinary in one season and high in another.
This station is a USGS site, and its record spans 42 years. When you read today’s value beside the day-of-year median, you can see whether the creek is running near its usual mark for this date, or sitting above or below that baseline. For neighbours, that is the better clue for field access, bank conditions, and whether the water is tracking its normal seasonal range.
How this page is built
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
