WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for East Fork Trinity River near McKinney in TX, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The East Fork Trinity River near McKinney sits in the East Fork Trinity watershed, Texas.
The station’s high water mark is 17.13 ft (5.22 m), set in May 2015. The low water mark is 2.1 ft (0.64 m), set in January 2026.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. Typical levels peak in March at 4.76 ft (1.45 m) and bottom out in August at 4.04 ft (1.23 m). That typical annual swing is 8.7 in (22.1 cm), which is the range a dock, pump intake, or crossing has to live with in an average year.
For people watching the river, the main takeaway is that the record can move well beyond the usual seasonal band. In this part of Texas, rainfall-driven rises can happen in hours, and long low-flow stretches can separate those events.
The drainage area above this station is 190 sq mi (492 km2). That is the land feeding this gauge, not the full watershed name on the page.
For local users, that matters because a river with this kind of catchment can respond quickly when storms hit. If you fish here, the water can change fast after heavy rain. If you keep livestock, a low-water crossing, or a pump intake near the channel, the short gap between a quiet morning and a rising river can be the part that matters most.
The number at the top of the page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation. A single stage reading by itself only says where the water sits right now. Compared with the median for today, it tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for this date.
This station is run by the USGS, and the record covers 17 years. That makes the day-by-day median a better local benchmark than the absolute height alone, because it puts today’s reading in the context of the station’s own history.
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.
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.