WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Mud Lake near Terreton ID in ID, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Mud Lake sits in the Beaver-Camas watershed, Idaho.
The station record runs for more than 19 years, so the daily pattern here has some weight behind it.
The highest level in the record is 40.28 ft (12.28 m), reached in February 2011. The lowest is 0.88 ft (0.27 m), reached in March 2025. That spread tells you this lake can sit very low and also move a long way from there.
The seasonal shape is clear. The typical high point is June, at 6.55 ft (2 m). The typical low point is March, at 1.82 ft (0.55 m). The typical annual swing is 4.7 ft (1.44 m). For someone using the shore, dock, or intake, that is the range to plan around, not a single day’s reading.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not listed here, so there is no basis to describe how much warning the lake gives during a quick jump.
Mud Lake is monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey at a gauge with 1,130 sq mi (2,927 km2) upstream of the station. That is the drainage area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed name on the map.
This basin sits in a snowmelt climate pattern where the late spring rise matters most. The record’s June high fits that rhythm, and the March low shows the kind of late-season drop users should expect to see in dry stretches. For anglers, that means shoreline access and nearshore conditions can change across the spring. For cottagers and anyone with a pump or intake, the annual swing is the number to watch.
The hero number on this page should be read as today’s level compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it shows whether the lake is running above or below its normal position for this date.
At a USGS station with more than 19 years on record, that comparison gives context that a single number cannot. It helps separate an ordinary seasonal level from something that is unusually high or low for the time of year.
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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