WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Nodaway River near Burlington Junction in MO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Nodaway River in the Nodaway watershed of Missouri is monitored near Burlington Junction.
This station drains 1,240 square miles (3,212 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area that can feed this reading, so rain anywhere in that catchment can matter here.
For a river in this part of the Midwest, the seasonal pattern matters as much as any single storm. The typical high point comes in May at 6.38 ft (1.95 m), and the typical low point comes in September at 3.78 ft (1.15 m). The usual annual swing is 31.3 in (79.4 cm), which is enough to change how a low dock sits, how a crossing feels, and how much margin a bank intake has through the year.
The record high is 21.69 ft (6.61 m) in March 2019. The record low is 3.08 ft (0.94 m) in October 2021. Those two points show the range this river can reach at this station: from a shallow late-season stage to a flood height far above the usual seasonal band.
The record spans 50 years, so these are not one-off snapshots. They are the sort of numbers that help a neighbour judge whether a changing stage is still ordinary for the season or moving toward an uncommon level. The fastest 24-hour rise is not listed, so there is nothing to add on warning time from that field.
The hero number on this page is today’s stage set against the median for this calendar day across the full USGS record. That is better than raw elevation alone because a river at 6 ft can mean something very different in May than it does in September.
USGS is the operating agency here, and the record extends across more than 50 years. For cottagers, anglers, and anyone watching a crossing or intake, the day-of-year median gives the clearest read on whether the river is merely moving through its usual season or standing outside it.
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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