WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cumberland River at Burkesville in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Cumberland River at Burkesville is in the Upper Cumberland-Lake Cumberland watershed in Kentucky.
The record at this station runs through about 13 years.
The highest level in the file is 56.46 ft (17.21 m) in February 2019. For anyone using a dock, ramp, or low bank, that is the upper end of what this gauge has seen on record.
The lowest level is 24.49 ft (7.47 m) in November 2013. That is the low-water end of the station history, and it is the level to keep in mind for shallow access and intakes.
Seasonally, the river is usually highest in March at 37.17 ft (11.33 m) and usually lowest in November at 28.44 ft (8.67 m). The typical annual swing is 8.7 ft (2.66 m). In practice, that is the range a shoreline setup has to tolerate over a normal year.
This station sits in an Appalachian-foothill setting, where rain on saturated ground can push water up quickly, especially in winter and spring. That pattern fits the regional note here: the sharpest rises tend to come in the colder, wetter part of the year, with spring also active.
For local users, that means the river can move from ordinary to troublesome faster than a broad, lowland river would. A fast rise shortens the time between a safe bank and a flooded one, and it can change conditions for access, anchoring, and bank fishing on short notice.
The hero number on this page is most useful when set against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not just against the raw stage. That puts today’s reading in context: whether it is typical for the date, running high, or running low for this point in the season.
This station is reported by the USGS, and the record spans about 13 years.
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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