Nairn at Firhall Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Nairn at Firhall in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Scotland, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge sepa-234218 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Nairn at Firhall
Nairn at Firhall is a gauged river in Scotland.
The river
This station drains a catchment above the gauge of 313 km2 (121 sq mi), so it reflects the water coming off that upstream area at Firhall rather than the river everywhere it runs. For anyone watching a bank, intake, or field crossing, that matters: the reading here is the local control point for this reach.
The record runs back more than four decades. Over that span, the river has reached 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in July 1997 and fallen to 0.27 m (0.9 ft) in September 2022. Those two marks show the range this reach can live through, from a summer high that arrived out of season to a very low late-summer stage. The river’s monthly pattern is more regular: January is the typical high month at 0.64 m (2.1 ft), while July is the typical low month at 0.41 m (1.33 ft). The usual annual swing is 23.6 cm (9.3 in), which is the change a dock, riffle, or shallow crossing has to handle most years.
What the numbers say
The seasonal pattern fits a rain-fed river with a winter-to-spring bias: higher stages tend to arrive in the colder months, and lower water tends to show up in summer. The record high in July is a reminder that unusual warm-season storms can overturn the usual pattern. The record low in September points to how far late-summer flow can fall when warm, dry weather lingers.
Reading the hero number
The page’s hero value is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day, not against a fixed elevation. That comparison is more useful because it shows whether the river is running above or below its own usual level for today, based on the station’s record with SEPA and more than four decades of history.
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.
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Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
