WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Carr Creek Lake near Sassafras in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Carr Creek Lake sits in the North Fork Kentucky watershed in Kentucky.
The record on this lake is short, but it already shows a wide range. The high mark is 49.07 ft (14.96 m), set in February 2025. The low mark is 17.09 ft (5.21 m), set in January 2024. That span matters for docks, ramps, and any intake set near the waterline.
The monthly pattern is also clear. July is the highest typical month at 28.24 ft (8.61 m), while January is the lowest typical month at 17.35 ft (5.29 m). The typical annual swing is 10.9 ft (3.32 m). For someone using the lake, that is the range to expect when planning access, mooring, or shoreline work.
The station record covers 3 years, so these are early patterns rather than a long climate history. Even so, the lake has already shown a winter low, a summer high, and a record high that sits well above the usual monthly level.
This lake sits in the North Fork Kentucky system, where runoff can respond quickly in steep terrain. The regional pattern is strongest in winter and spring, when rain on saturated ground can push water up fast. Summer levels are usually lower, which fits the typical monthly shape here.
For a cottager or angler, that means to watch for quick changes after wet weather and to expect the water to move within a fairly broad seasonal band. The lake’s behavior is more useful than any single reading.
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not as a stand-alone elevation. That comparison shows whether the lake is running high or low for this date.
This station is published by the USGS. The record spans 3 years, so the day-to-day median is the better guide than a raw number on its own.
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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