WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Carr Fork near Sassafras in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Carr Fork near Sassafras is a gauged river in the North Fork Kentucky watershed in Kentucky.
This reach usually sits highest in February at 8 ft (2.44 m) and lowest in April at 7.11 ft (2.17 m). The typical annual swing is 10.7 in (27.1 cm), which is modest on paper but still enough to matter at a dock, a low crossing, or a shallow intake. In a steep basin, that seasonal range can be passed quickly when rain lands on already wet ground.
The drainage area above the station is 60.6 square miles (157 km2), so changes upstream can show up here without much delay. For anglers, that means the edge habitat and depth at common spots can shift from month to month, even outside flood periods.
The record high is 11.08 ft (3.38 m) in February 2025. The record low is 5.91 ft (1.8 m) in June 2020. Those two marks show the reach can cover a wide band in a short record of 14 years. For anyone watching a riverbank, that is the spread to keep in mind when judging where water has reached before and how much room is left before the next rise becomes a problem.
The month pattern also fits the broader seasonal note for this part of Kentucky: the highest water tends to come in winter, and the lower water comes later in spring.
The number on the page is best read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not as a stand-alone elevation. A raw stage reading only tells you where the water sits right now; the daily median tells you whether it is running above or below the middle of what this station has seen on the same date. That is the comparison that matters for quick decisions at a crossing, an intake, or a bank access point.
This station has 14 years on record, and it is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey.
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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