WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ohio R at Pike Island Dam near Wheeling (upper) in WV, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Ohio R at Pike Island Dam near Wheeling (upper) is a gauged river in the Upper Ohio-Wheeling watershed, West Virginia.
This station covers 24,570 sq mi (63,636 km2) upstream of the gauge, so the level here reflects a large stretch of the Upper Ohio, not just one neighbourhood reach. The seasonal signal is modest at this site: the typical high month is September at 12.92 ft (3.94 m), while the typical low month is April at 12.62 ft (3.85 m). The typical annual swing is 3.6 in (9.1 cm).
For people using the river, that means the month-to-month background change is small compared with the jumps that come with storms and wet periods. On a dock, intake, or landing, the day-to-day shape matters more than the calendar month alone.
The record high is 21.66 ft (6.6 m), set in April 2024. The record low is 12.07 ft (3.68 m), set in March 2025. Those two marks show that this gauge can cover a wide range even though the seasonal average moves only a little.
With 16 years on record, the station has enough history to show that the river can sit near its typical band for long stretches, then move sharply when basin-wide conditions change. For a boater or angler, the practical lesson is to check the current reading before heading out, because the recorded extremes are far outside the usual month-to-month swing.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading, set beside the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That comparison matters more than raw elevation because it answers a simple question: is the river running above or below its usual place for this date?
At this USGS station, the daily median gives context that a single stage number cannot. A reading above the median tells you the river is running higher than its own normal for this day; a reading below it means the opposite. That is the number to watch if you are checking access, bank exposure, or whether the river is moving toward its seasonal high or low band.
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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