WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for N F Shenandoah River at Cootes Store in VA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The North Fork Shenandoah River at Cootes Store sits in the North Fork Shenandoah watershed in Virginia.
The record high is 11.29 ft (3.44 m) in June 2018. The record low is 1.85 ft (0.56 m) in September 2009. Those two marks show the range this river can cover at this station: a high-water reading for bank and access concerns, and a low-water reading for shallow draft, intake, and fish-cover issues.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The typical high month is March at 3.32 ft (1.01 m), and the typical low month is September at 2.23 ft (0.68 m). The typical annual swing is 13 in (33.1 cm). For anyone using a dock, crossing, or pump on the river, that is the part of the record that matters day to day: March tends to carry more water, September less.
The fastest 24-hour rise is not available here, so there is no station-specific warning rate to quote.
This is a rain-driven Appalachian and piedmont river, so the broad seasonal shape fits what nearby waters often do: winter and spring bring the higher water, and late summer is usually the slack period. Tropical remnants can also push sharp late-summer rises.
For this reach, that means conditions can change quickly after heavy rain, and then settle back to low flow in dry weeks. The record low in September 2009 matches the part of the year when low water is most likely, while the record high in June 2018 shows that high water is not limited to spring.
The hero number on this page compares today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today is ordinary for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.
This station is operated by the USGS and has more than 50 years on record. If you are checking it for fishing, access, or a low-water intake, the calendar-day median is the better quick read because it puts today in the station’s own history, not just against the gauge scale.
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.
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
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.