WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ohatchee Creek at Ohatchee in AL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Ohatchee Creek in the Middle Coosa watershed, Alabama, is tracked at the USGS station at Ohatchee.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward for this creek. February is the typical high month at 4.09 ft (1.25 m), while October is the typical low month at 1.95 ft (0.6 m). That span is 25.7 in (65.3 cm) across a normal year, so docks, pumps, and bank access can see a clear shift between late winter and fall.
For people using the creek, that means the water is usually highest in the wetter part of the cool season and lowest in autumn. The low-water period is the one to watch for shallow crossings and intake exposure. The higher-water period is the one that can change bank conditions and make shoreline use less predictable.
The record high is 22 ft (6.71 m), reached in March 2021. The record low is 1.69 ft (0.52 m), reached in October 2024. Those two marks show the range this gauge has captured over more than 13 years of record.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts here, so there is no number to carry forward. Even without that statistic, the record high and record low are enough to show that the creek can move from a shallow fall low to a much higher spring peak. For anyone with a dock, intake, or low crossing, that is the spread that matters.
The hero number on this page is best read against the median for the same calendar day across the station record, not as a raw elevation alone. A single water level by itself can be misleading; the same height can mean rising water, falling water, or an ordinary day depending on where it sits for that date.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 13 years. That gives the daily median enough context to show whether the creek is running above or below its usual level for this 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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