WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Hudson River at North Creek NY in NY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Hudson River at North Creek sits in the Upper Hudson watershed in New York.
This USGS station drains 792 sq mi (2051 km2) above the gauge. That is the upstream area feeding the reading here, not the whole Upper Hudson.
For people who live along the river or use it for access, that upstream size matters because it gathers spring runoff from a broad area before the water reaches North Creek. The river’s record range at this site runs from 2.12 ft (0.65 m) in August 2020 to 12.9 ft (3.93 m) in April 2011.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is April at 5.23 ft (1.59 m). The lowest typical month is September at 2.93 ft (0.89 m). That gives a typical annual swing of 27.6 in (70.1 cm).
For docks, intakes, and shallow crossings, that swing is the main thing to plan around. April is the month to watch for higher water, while September is the month when levels are usually lowest.
This station has 50 years on record. That long record is what makes the extremes useful: the April 2011 high of 12.9 ft (3.93 m) and the August 2020 low of 2.12 ft (0.65 m) show the range this river can cover here.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading, set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is behaving above, below, or near its usual level for the date.
At a USGS station with more than 50 years on record, that context helps cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers read the number as a standing condition, not just a height.
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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