WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Lake Horton Headwater near Fayetteville in GA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Lake Horton sits in the Upper Flint watershed in Georgia.
This station is on a lake headwater site in the Upper Flint. For people watching water levels at the shore, the record is short but useful: the station has more than 12 years on record, so the range is enough to show how far this water can move through a wet season and a dry one.
The highest recorded level is 782.57 ft (238.53 m) in December 2015. The lowest recorded level is 771.72 ft (235.22 m) in November 2016. That span is the difference between a shoreline that can reach well beyond a dock’s usual working range and one that can leave a ramp or intake sitting higher than expected.
Seasonally, the lake is typically highest in February at 780.18 ft (237.8 m) and lowest in October at 777.18 ft (236.89 m). The typical annual swing is 35.9 in (91.3 cm). For a cottage, that is the range a fixed dock has to live with; for anglers, it is the difference between a familiar edge and a shoreline that has shifted.
There is no fastest 24-hour rise in the facts provided here, so I cannot point to a warning-time number for this site. That leaves the seasonal pattern as the main guide: winter and late-winter levels run higher, while fall is usually lower.
The number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is better than raw elevation because it tells you whether the lake is running high or low for this date, not just where the surface sits on the datum.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record length is more than 12 years. For day-to-day use, that context matters more than the absolute height alone: it helps you judge whether the current level is normal for now, or outside the range you usually plan around.
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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