Cimarron River near Forgan Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cimarron River near Forgan in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location KS, United States
- Watershed upper cimarron liberal
- Primary gauge 07156900 (USGS)
About Cimarron River near Forgan
Cimarron River near Forgan sits in the Upper Cimarron-Liberal watershed in Kansas.
What the record shows
The station record runs back 50 years. The high mark is 5.03 ft (1.53 m) in July 2023, and the low mark is 1.39 ft (0.42 m) in July 2022. That is a wide spread for one river reach, and it tells you the stage here can move from low-water conditions to a much higher level within the same season.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight on the page but still matters on the ground. The typical high month is April at 2.34 ft (0.71 m), and the typical low month is August at 1.97 ft (0.6 m). The typical annual swing is 4.4 in (11.1 cm). For a dock, intake, or shallow crossing, that means the river’s usual changes are modest compared with the record extremes, but late summer is still the time to expect the lowest water.
Plains hydrology is often shaped by spring and summer convective storms, followed by long dry recessions. On this river, that is the kind of setting where a rise can arrive quickly and then take time to leave flat ground.
The watershed
The drainage area above this station is 8,486 sq mi (21,979 km2). That is the area feeding this gauge, not the watershed as a whole.
For people living along the reach, that upstream area matters because it can collect runoff from a large plain before the water reaches the station. When storms line up, stage can change fast enough to affect access, low crossings, and bank conditions. When the weather dries out, the river can settle into a long decline.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day in the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same stage can mean something different in April than it does in August.
USGS operates this station. With 50 years on record, the comparison gives you context from the local history of this reach, not just a single water-surface number.
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
