WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Clinch River above Tazewell in TN, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Clinch River above Tazewell is in the Upper Clinch, Tennessee, Virginia watershed.
The station’s upstream area is 1474 sq mi (3818 km2), so the numbers here reflect what arrives to this reach, not the whole watershed name on the page. For people using the river downstream of Tazewell, that matters because the gauge is reading one drainage area, not a broad regional average.
This is a river with a wide seasonal range at the station. The typical high point comes in February at 3.68 ft (1.12 m), while the typical low point comes in October at 1.02 ft (0.31 m). The typical annual swing is 32 in (81.2 cm), which is the amount a dock, intake, or shallow crossing has to be ready to handle over a normal year.
The record high is 18.84 ft (5.74 m) in February 2020. The record low is 0.31 ft (0.1 m) in October 2007. Those two ends show how far this gauge can move over its record.
The pattern here fits a river that can respond quickly in the cool season and settle lower later in the year. February is the usual high month, and October is the usual low month. That seasonal shape is what cottagers, anglers, and anyone with a water intake should keep in mind when planning around shore access or shallow water.
The record range is much larger than the typical swing. A river that has reached 18.84 ft (5.74 m) at one end of the record and 0.31 ft (0.1 m) at the other can change fast enough to matter for bank access, boat launching, and shallow habitat. Even without a fastest 24-hour rise value listed here, the station history says this is a waterway where level changes deserve attention.
The number shown on the page is today’s reading, and it is best read against the median for this same calendar day across the station record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is running above, below, or near its usual level for this date.
This station is published by the USGS, and the record spans about 50 years. On a day-to-day basis, that context is what helps separate a normal reading from one that stands out for this river.
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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