WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Crooked B. NW of L. Cuatro Caballo near Delacroix in LA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Crooked B. NW of L. Cuatro Caballo near Delacroix is a gauged river in the Eastern Louisiana Coastal watershed, Louisiana.
This reach sits in a part of coastal Louisiana where backwater and rainfall flooding can hold water up for days, and hurricane-season surges can push levels higher than a calm day would suggest. That matters for docks, marsh edges, and any intake that needs a steady head of water.
The seasonal pattern in the record is modest but clear. September is the highest typical month at 5.6 ft (1.71 m), while January is the lowest typical month at 4.59 ft (1.4 m). The typical annual swing is 12.1 in (30.7 cm), so the day-to-day feel is usually a slow shift rather than a sharp seasonal drop. Even so, the monthly highs in late summer and early fall are the ones to watch if you are planning a trip, a mooring, or work near the bank.
The station’s record high is 11.29 ft (3.44 m) in September 2008. That is the level this reach has shown when water backed up hard. The record low is -0.66 ft (-0.2 m) in December 1999, which shows that this gauge can also sit well below the usual range.
Those two endpoints are useful because they show the spread this water can cover at one site. For anyone fishing here, the record high marks the kind of rise that can change access and bank conditions quickly. For anyone keeping gear in the water, the low record is a reminder that shallow conditions are part of the station’s history too.
The hero number on this page is strongest when it is read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation by itself. A single level does not say whether the river is near its usual mark for this date; the daily median does.
This station has more than 28 years on record, so that comparison draws on a long local history at the same gauge. The reading is published by the USGS, which is the agency behind this station.
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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