Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge in VA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location VA, United States
- Watershed upper james
- Primary gauge 02016000 (USGS)
About Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge
The Cowpasture River near Clifton Forge is in the Upper James watershed in Virginia.
What the record shows
The station record runs back more than 50 years. The highest water in the record reached 11.29 ft (3.44 m) in September 2018. The lowest reached 1.31 ft (0.4 m) in November 2023.
The seasonal pattern is clear. April is the usual high-water month, at 2.73 ft (0.83 m), while September is the usual low-water month, at 1.52 ft (0.46 m). The typical swing between those two months is 14.6 in (37 cm).
For people along the river, that means two different jobs for the same water. In spring, higher stages can change access, bank use, and how close a dock or intake sits to moving water. By late summer and early fall, lower stages mean shallower margins and less water over bars and riffles.
The record fits the regional rhythm: winter and spring rain floods do most of the work, brief summer low flows are part of the year, and late-summer rises can still happen fast when tropical remnants pass through.
The watershed
The gauge drains 461 sq mi (1,194 km2) upstream of this station. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the full Upper James watershed.
For local users, the size of that upstream area matters more than a map label. It is the land delivering runoff to this point, so the station responds to rain falling across a broad part of the basin. That is why one wet spell can move the stage here, while a dry stretch can leave the river low for weeks.
Reading the hero number
The number on the page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a stand-alone elevation. A river stage can look ordinary in one season and high in another, so the day-matched median tells you whether today is above or below the usual condition for this date.
This station is operated by the USGS. With more than 50 years of record, that comparison is useful because it places today in the context of the river’s own history, not just its current foot reading.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
