WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Killhope Burn at Wearhead in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Killhope Burn at Wearhead is a gauged river in England.
Without a watershed name in the station metadata, the page is best read as a reach on the burn itself. For anyone watching the water here, the useful pattern is the seasonal one: the highest typical month is November at 0.18 m (0.6 ft), while the lowest typical month is July at 0.1 m (0.32 ft). That is a modest swing, but it still matters for small intakes, low crossings, and the depth available over shallow riffles.
The record range gives a wider frame. The highest level in the station record is 0.88 m (2.87 ft) in November 2009, and the lowest is -0.09 m (-0.29 ft) in September 2001. Those are the bounds this reach has shown over 27 years on record, so the burn has room to move well beyond its usual month-to-month rhythm.
The typical annual swing is 8.6 cm (3.4 in). That is the number to keep in mind if you are judging whether a dock, bank crossing, or bank-side setup will sit in the water through the season, or sit noticeably lower by midsummer. In temperate rivers, the pattern usually leans toward higher water in spring and lower water in summer, but here the station’s highest typical month is November, which is the month to watch most closely.
The station record is long enough to show both everyday conditions and the edges of what this burn can do. November stands out twice: it is the highest typical month, and it is also the month of the record high. July is the low point in the typical cycle, while September 2001 marks the record low. That spread is what a local user feels as changing depth, not as an abstract line on a graph.
The hero number on this page is most useful when read against the median for the same calendar day, not as a raw level on its own. A level above that day’s median says the burn is running higher than usual for this date; a level below it says the reach is lower than its own seasonal norm.
This station is operated by the Environment Agency. With 27 years on record, that day-by-day comparison gives more context than the current height alone, especially on a river where the typical year is only a few centimetres from high to low.
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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