WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Little Blue River at Hollenberg in KS, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Little Blue River at Hollenberg is in the Lower Little Blue watershed in Kansas.
This USGS station has more than 50 years on record, so the range here is worth paying attention to.
The record high is 19.06 ft (5.81 m), set in May 2015. The record low is 1.02 ft (0.31 m), set in October 2024. That spread tells you this reach can move from a low summer-like stage to a much higher flood stage over the life of the record.
The seasonal pattern is steadier than the extremes. June is the highest typical month at 2.85 ft (0.87 m), and September is the lowest typical month at 2.19 ft (0.67 m). The typical annual swing is 8 in (20.2 cm), which is the amount a dock, pump intake, or shallow crossing should expect to tolerate in an ordinary year.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not listed in the facts, so I will not guess at warning time here.
The drainage area above this station is 2,752 sq mi (7,128 km2). That is the land that drains to this gauge, not the full named watershed.
For the Lower Little Blue, the seasonal note fits plain-country drainage: spring and summer storms can send water up fast, then long dry periods can let it drop back for a while. On flat ground, high water can also take time to clear once it arrives. For people living along the river, that means watching both the storm track and the recession after it.
The number on this page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day, not with raw elevation alone. A river stage that sits above its day-of-year median is behaving differently from what is normal for the date, even if the absolute number does not look dramatic.
That is why USGS daily records matter here. With more than 50 years on record, the station has enough history to show what is ordinary for this point in the year, and what is not.
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.
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