WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ouse Burn at Woolsington in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Ouse Burn is a gauged river in England.
The pattern here is modest but clear. January is the highest month on the record, with a typical level of 0.12 m (0.38 ft), while July is the lowest month, with a typical level of 0.04 m (0.14 ft). That 7.3 cm (2.9 in) annual swing is small on paper, but it is the part a low bank, a mooring line, or a shallow intake feels first.
For people living near the burn, that means winter is the time to watch for the higher side of the normal range, and mid-summer is the time when water can sit closest to the low end of the station’s pattern. The monthly rhythm matters more than a single reading when you are judging access, clearance, or whether a small change is worth a second look.
The station has more than 43 years on record, and its extremes give a sense of what this reach has already shown. The record high is 1.15 m (3.77 ft), set in January 2016. The record low is -0.17 m (-0.55 ft), set in August 2025.
Those two marks matter because they bracket the water levels this gauge has actually seen. If you are fishing, maintaining a bank, or checking a crossing, the records tell you the limits that have been reached here before, not just the usual day-to-day variation. The negative low is a reminder that very low water is part of the station’s history, even when the normal seasonal range is small.
The number at the top of the page is best read against the median for the same calendar day across the station’s record. That tells you whether today is running high, low, or near the middle for this date, which is more useful than a raw elevation on its own.
A single level can look ordinary in one season and unusual in another. The day-median comparison puts today’s reading into the context that matters for a river like this: what is typical right now, at this station, over more than 43 years of measurements. This station is operated by the Environment Agency.
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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