Cedar River at Waverly Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cedar River at Waverly in IA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IA, United States
- Watershed upper cedar
- Primary gauge 05458300 (USGS)
About Cedar River at Waverly
The Cedar River at Waverly is in the Upper Cedar watershed in Iowa.
What the record shows
This station has more than 26 years of record, and the range is wide enough to matter to anyone watching a bank, dock, or intake.
The record high is 18.78 ft (5.72 m) in June 2008. The record low is 2.59 ft (0.79 m) in January 2015. Those two marks show that this reach can sit near low water in winter and still climb to a much higher level when conditions turn wet.
The typical seasonal shape is modest by comparison. June is the highest month at 5.07 ft (1.54 m), and January is the lowest month at 4.95 ft (1.51 m). The typical annual swing is 1.4 in (3.6 cm). For most years, that means the day-to-day background change is small, even though flood periods can move far outside the usual band.
The watershed
The gauge drains 1547 sq mi (4007 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Upper Cedar watershed.
For a river in prairie and midwest country, spring snowmelt and rain on frozen or saturated ground are the main times to watch for fast rises. Summer storm runoff can also send the river up quickly. On the other side of the year, lower winter levels are part of the normal seasonal pattern here.
For nearby landowners, that combination means the river can spend long periods in a narrow range, then leave that range quickly when runoff arrives. For fishers, the useful signal is not just whether the water is high or low, but how fast it is changing.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page is most useful when compared with the median for this calendar day at this station, not with a fixed elevation alone. A raw level by itself does not say whether today is typical for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.
This station is monitored by the USGS, and the record spans more than 26 years. That history is what makes the calendar-day median a better reference: it puts today’s reading against the river’s own behaviour for this same date, year after year.
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.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
