Middle Fork Saline River near Harrisburg Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Middle Fork Saline River near Harrisburg in IL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location IL, United States
- Watershed saline
- Primary gauge 03382200 (USGS)
About Middle Fork Saline River near Harrisburg
Middle Fork Saline River near Harrisburg is a gauged river in the Saline watershed, Illinois.
What the record shows
The station record spans more than 15 years, so it gives a workable picture of how this river behaves from year to year. The highest level in the record is 34.49 ft (10.51 m), set in April 2025. The lowest is 8.03 ft (2.45 m), in July 2012.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight. The typical high point comes in March at 11.59 ft (3.53 m), and the typical low point comes in September at 8.99 ft (2.74 m). That is a typical annual swing of 31.2 in (79.2 cm). For cottagers and anyone with gear close to the bank, that means the river can move enough over the year to change how far out a dock sits or how much clearance an intake has, even when the channel looks steady day to day.
The broad pattern fits prairie-midwest hydrology: winter-spring rain and melt floods dominate, and high water can linger when drainage is slow across flat ground. Later in the year, the river usually settles back.
The watershed
The gauge drains 225 sq mi (583 km2) upstream of this station. That is the area feeding the river here, not the whole Saline watershed.
For people living or farming nearby, that upstream area matters because rainfall and runoff from it show up at this point on the channel. When the basin is wet, the river can stay elevated longer than a small flashy stream would. When the basin dries out, levels can ease back toward the lower end of the record.
Reading the hero number
The number on this page is the current reading compared with the median for this calendar day at this USGS station. That is more useful than raw elevation because a stage of 10 ft (3.05 m) can mean very different things in March than it does in September.
USGS uses a longer local record to set that comparison, so the hero number tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual mark for today, not just how high it is in isolation.
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
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
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
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
