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Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Comox Lake in Nelson Land District, BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Comox Lake sits in the South Central Vancouver Island watershed in British Columbia.
The station above the lake drains 458 km2 (177 sq mi) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the reading on this page, not the watershed as a whole.
With 32 years on record, the lake has enough history to show a clear seasonal pattern. The typical high point comes in June at 135.04 m (443.05 ft), and the typical low point comes in October at 132.43 m (434.47 ft). That seasonal swing is 2.62 m (8.6 ft). For shorelines, docks, and intakes, that is the range to plan around each year.
The record high is 136.15 m (446.67 ft) in October 2003. The record low is 130.49 m (428.13 ft) in November 2002. The fastest 24-hour rise on record is 1.38 m (4.5 ft) in October 2003, which is the kind of move that can change conditions quickly for anyone watching a dock, ramp, or low shoreline.
The fastest 24-hour drop is 47.9 cm (18.9 in) in November 2016. That is a sharp one-day change, and it matters if you are timing a launch, checking exposure at a pump, or reading the lake for a weekend stay.
This is a mountain watershed, so the usual pattern is a freshet driven by snowpack, with the main rise often landing in late spring to early summer. The numbers here fit that broad rhythm, with the typical high in June and the typical low in October.
The hero number on this page is most useful when you read it against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That tells you whether the lake is sitting above or below its usual level for this date, which is more useful than raw elevation alone.
A single elevation can be hard to judge on its own. Compared with the calendar-day median, it becomes a practical signal for shoreline access, flood watch, and day-to-day water use. With 32 years of record behind it, the comparison gives you context that a lone number cannot.
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 in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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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