Hot Springs Cr DS of Grand Ave at Hot Springs Water Level

Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Hot Springs Cr DS of Grand Ave at Hot Springs in AR, United States, built from official government gauge data.

About Hot Springs Cr DS of Grand Ave at Hot Springs

Hot Springs Creek in the Ouachita Headwaters, Arkansas, is a USGS stream gauge with 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2) above the station.

The watershed

The gauge drains a small part of the Ouachita Headwaters, not the whole watershed. With 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2) above the station, the response here can change fast after rain, which is the scale that matters for a bank, crossing, or intake near the channel.

In this part of Arkansas, winter and spring are usually the wetter part of the year, while late summer and early fall are often lower. That seasonal rhythm matters on this creek because the record shows a modest range most years, but the water can still move outside that band.

What the numbers say

The record high is 3.59 ft (1.09 m), set in September 2008. The record low is -0.04 ft (-0.01 m), set in October 2024. Those two marks show that the creek can sit very close to zero at low water, then climb well above that when conditions change.

The typical highest month is February at 0.54 ft (0.17 m), and the typical lowest month is September at 0.31 ft (0.1 m). The typical annual swing is 2.8 in (7 cm), which is a small change in absolute terms but still enough to matter for shallow crossings, dock clearance, and any low outlet sitting close to the surface.

There is no fastest 24-hour rise in the facts provided, so I won’t add one.

Reading the hero number

The hero number on this page is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today is ordinary for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.

This station has more than 18 years of USGS record, so the comparison is grounded in a real local history rather than a single day’s value.

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

Verify your email to receive alerts and history exports.
Favorites
Loading…
Notifications
No active alerts
Set an alert on any lake to get notified when levels change.
The Nibi Dispatch
Water moves. Stay ahead of it.
One email a week — freshet watches, record levels, new regions. Nothing else.
Map
Nibi MetricsNibi Metrics

Sign in

Alerts & notifications Get notified when your favorite lakes go outside normal range
Loading…
Your account Email, subscription, and account actions
Loading…
DEV ZONE

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

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.

The flood of record that was overtaken

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.

Why the Assiniboine floods every spring

Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.

How snowpack becomes summer water

The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.

Reading a staff gauge like a hydrologist

What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.

Flash Flood Alley: how Texas rivers rise in hours

Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.

What a "100-year flood" actually means

One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.

How every number is computed - About the platform