Hinkston Creek near Carlisle Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Hinkston Creek near Carlisle in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Water body HINKSTON CREEK NEAR CARLISLE
- Location KY, United States
- Watershed south fork licking
- Primary gauge 03252300 (USGS)
About Hinkston Creek near Carlisle
Hinkston Creek in the South Fork Licking watershed, Kentucky, is tracked at the Carlisle gauge.
What the record shows
This station has more than 35 years of USGS record.
The highest level in that record is 32.86 ft (10.02 m), in May 2010. The lowest is 2.14 ft (0.65 m), in August 2012. That is a wide range for anyone watching a crossing, bank, or intake.
The seasonal pattern is also clear. February is the typical high month at 5.09 ft (1.55 m), while September is the typical low month at 2.76 ft (0.84 m). The typical annual swing is 27.9 in (70.9 cm). For a dock, pump, or fishing spot, that means the creek spends part of the year well above its late-summer level and part of the year back near it.
The watershed
The gauge drains 154 sq mi (399 km2) above the station. That is the upstream area feeding this reading, not the whole South Fork Licking basin.
In this part of Kentucky, the main watchpoints are rain on already wet ground and the quick rises that can follow in winter and spring. On a smaller creek like this, water can move from routine to problem level faster than people expect, especially when the ground is already loaded with water.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation. Stage by itself is just one height; the median for the day tells you whether Hinkston Creek is running higher or lower than its usual place in the record for this date.
That matters for day-to-day use. A reading near the median is ordinary for the season. A reading well above it means less room for runoff, more attention at low spots, and less margin at crossings or banks. A reading below it points the other way.
USGS maintains this station, and the comparison rests on more than 35 years of record.
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.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
