Pincher Creek at Front Range Road Water Level

Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Pincher Creek at Front Range Road in AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.

About Pincher Creek at Front Range Road

Pincher Creek is in the Upper Oldman watershed in Alberta.

Season by season

Late spring is the time to watch here. The highest typical month is June at 7.91 m (25.95 ft), while the lowest typical month is March at 7.74 m (25.39 ft). That typical annual swing is 17.3 cm (6.8 in), so day-to-day change is usually modest compared with the bigger moves that can come with storms.

For people with intakes, crossings, or fishing access, June is the month when the water is most likely to sit near its seasonal high. March is the time when the creek is typically lowest, so shallow spots and exposed edges are more likely then.

Records and rises

The record high is 8.5 m (27.87 ft), set in June 2014. The record low is 7.64 m (25.06 ft), set in March 2014.

The fastest 24-hour rise on record is 41.3 cm (16.3 in), in June 2013. That is the kind of jump that matters for banks, low crossings, and anyone needing a bit of warning time. The fastest 24-hour drop is 27.5 cm (10.8 in), also in June 2013.

With 24.4 km2 (9.4 sq mi) upstream of the station, this gauge is picking up a small drainage area, so changes can show up quickly when the weather turns.

Reading the hero number

The number shown on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation. That comparison tells you whether today is ordinary for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.

Water Survey of Canada maintains this record, and the station has more than 20 years on record.

How this page is built

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.

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Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK

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.

What you can see for any monitored lake or river

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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