WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Peffery at Strathpeffer in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Peffery at Strathpeffer is a gauged river in Scotland.
This station has more than 31 years of record, so its range is not based on a short run of wet or dry seasons. The highest level in the file is 0.95 m (3.11 ft) in December 2013, and the lowest is 0.06 m (0.19 ft) in July 1996. For anyone drawing water, keeping a dock line clear, or watching a bank for access, that spread shows the reach can move through a wide set of conditions over time.
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. January is the typical high month at 0.49 m (1.62 ft), while July is the typical low month at 0.38 m (1.26 ft). The typical annual swing is 11 cm (4.3 in). That is the size of change a small intake, a shallow crossing, or a moored boat has to tolerate from season to season.
The catchment above this station is 15.9 km2 (6.1 sq mi). That is the area feeding the gauge itself, so the reading here responds to what falls and runs off in that upstream area. In a rain-driven coastal-plain and piedmont setting, winter and spring rains usually set the higher side of the cycle, while long warm-season low-flow stretches are common. Hurricane-season tropical deluges can also reset records.
The number on the page is most useful when it is set against the median for this calendar day, not read as a stand-alone height. A river can sit at the same elevation on two different dates and mean very different things if one reading is above the usual line for that day and the other is below it.
That daily comparison is the better guide for SEPA because it shows how the river is behaving right now against its own history at this station, which has more than 31 years on record.
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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