WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Greenwood Afterbay near Greenwood in MI, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Greenwood Afterbay near Greenwood is a gauged river in the Escanaba watershed, Michigan.
The seasonal range here is small: the typical annual swing is 1.7 in (4.2 cm). That is the kind of movement a dock, pump intake, or shoreline setup can usually live with, but it still matters when you are watching access or shallow edges.
March is the highest typical month at 80.56 ft (24.56 m), while September is the lowest typical month at 80.43 ft (24.51 m). In this part of the Great Lakes region, the broader pattern is a spring snowmelt freshet, with winter snowpack built by lake-effect snowfall and steadier summer baseflow than many inland streams. On this gauge, that shows up as a modest seasonal lift rather than a wide swing.
The highest level in the period of record is 81.53 ft (24.85 m), reached in April 2002. The lowest is 79.22 ft (24.15 m), reached in September 2001. For people using the afterbay, those two marks show the range this reach has already seen: higher water in spring can crowd low banks and shoreline gear, while late-summer lows can leave less depth where you expect to launch or draw water.
With 27 years on record, the gauge has a useful history for judging what is normal here and what is not. A single reading matters most when you place it against those past highs, lows, and the usual month-to-month pattern.
Today’s reading is best read against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record, not just as a raw elevation. That comparison tells you whether the afterbay is running high, low, or near its usual level for this date.
This station is operated by the USGS. With more than 27 years on record, the day-by-day median is the sharper yardstick for cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching access or shoreline change than the absolute number alone.
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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