Fox River Bypass at Yorkville Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Fox River Bypass at Yorkville in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed lower fox
- Primary gauge 05551582 (USGS)
About Fox River Bypass at Yorkville
Fox River Bypass at Yorkville is a gauged river in the Lower Fox watershed, Illinois.
What the record shows
The record on this gauge runs back more than 14 years. The highest level in that span was 13.91 ft (4.24 m) in April 2013. The lowest was 7.32 ft (2.23 m) in July 2012.
The monthly pattern is clear enough for day-to-day planning. April is the highest typical month at 9.97 ft (3.04 m), while September is the lowest at 8.45 ft (2.58 m). That gap is 18.3 in (46.5 cm), which is the kind of range a dock, low bank access, or intake setup has to live with from one season to the next.
For people watching this water, the key point is timing. Spring is when the bypass is most likely to sit high, and late summer into early autumn is when it is most likely to ease back.
The watershed
This station drains 1804 sq mi (4672 km2) upstream of the gauge. In prairie-midwest conditions, that much contributing area can stay responsive to winter and spring rain plus melt, and flat land can keep high water around longer than many expect.
On this page, the seasonal rhythm matters more than raw elevation. The bypass tends to be highest in April and lowest in September, so a change in level is not unusual across the year. For anglers, that usually means different access and current conditions between spring and late season. For cottagers and landowners near the bank, it means the same shoreline can sit several inches higher or lower depending on the month.
Reading the hero number
The number shown at the top of the page is most useful when read against the median level for this calendar day across the station record, not as a stand-alone elevation. A single reading can look ordinary or unusual only in relation to the local record and the time of year.
This station is operated in USGS records, and the page is using more than 14 years of observations to give that comparison weight. That is what helps separate a normal seasonal level from one that sits high for this date, even if the absolute stage does not look dramatic on its own.
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.
Water Stories
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How every number is computed - About the platform
