WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Boyer River at Logan in IA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Boyer River in the Boyer watershed, Iowa, is monitored at Logan.
Over more than 50 years of record, the high-water mark came in March 2019 at 22.35 ft (6.81 m), and the low-water mark came in September 2023 at 2.46 ft (0.75 m). That span tells you this reach can move from shallow to bankfull conditions quickly enough to matter for crossings, pumps, and anything set low on the bank.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is June at 5.06 ft (1.54 m), while the lowest typical month is September at 3.47 ft (1.06 m). The typical annual swing is 19.1 in (48.4 cm). For neighbours, that means summer water levels are usually lower than early-summer levels, and docks, intakes, and access points need to tolerate that change.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is no station-specific warning-time figure to add.
The station drains 871 sq mi (2,256 km2) upstream of Logan. That is the area feeding this gauge, not the whole Boyer watershed. In prairie-midwest hydrology, spring snowmelt and rain on frozen or saturated ground can push water up fast, and summer storm rises can add short-lived spikes. On flat land, water also tends to leave slowly once it gets into the channel.
For people living or fishing here, the useful number is not just the level itself but how that level fits the season. June is usually the higher side of the annual pattern, September the lower side, and the river has reached both the March 2019 high and the September 2023 low within the record.
Today’s reading should be read against the median for this calendar day, not against raw elevation. A level can look high or low on its own, but the median shows whether this day is running above or below the usual seasonal pattern at Logan.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 50 years.
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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