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 at Cleveland in VA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Clinch River at Cleveland sits in the Upper Clinch watershed in Virginia.
This station watches a river reach in the Upper Clinch watershed, and the record here spans more than 50 years. For people living along the bank, that matters because the daily level is not just a number on a chart; it is the difference between a safe launch, a workable intake, and water that has reached the edge of a dock or bank.
The record high was 19.39 ft (5.91 m) in February 2025. The record low was 1.13 ft (0.34 m) in October 2007. Those two marks show the range this reach can cover, from very low water to a much higher stage that changes how the river sits against the shore.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is February at 3.53 ft (1.08 m), and the lowest typical month is October at 1.67 ft (0.51 m). The typical annual swing is 22.3 in (56.6 cm).
For local use, that means the river usually runs higher in late winter and lower in early fall. Winter and spring are the months to watch for more frequent high water, while October is the month when shallow bars, ramps, and intakes are most likely to feel the low end of the cycle. No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is no station-specific warning-rate number to lean on.
The hero number on this page is best read as today’s level compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a river can be “high” for one day and ordinary for another.
This station is operated by the USGS, and its record is more than 50 years long. The median gives context: it tells you whether today is running above the usual pattern for this date, below it, or near it. That is the cleaner way to judge what the river is doing for a boat launch, a bank walk, or a withdrawal point.
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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