WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Windrush at Witney in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
River Windrush at Witney is a gauged river in England.
This station has 18 years on record with the Environment Agency.
The highest level in the file is 2 m (6.56 ft), reached in January 2014. The lowest is 0.25 m (0.81 ft), reached in September 2022. That is a wide spread for a small river reach, and it tells you the gauge has seen both a high winter stage and a very low late-season stage.
The seasonal pattern fits a temperate river. January is the typical high month at 1.12 m (3.67 ft), while September is the typical low month at 0.54 m (1.76 ft). The usual annual swing is 58.3 cm (23 in). For a dock, pump intake, or angling spot, that is the range to expect the water to move through in a normal year.
No watershed name is given for this station, so the picture here is only the river reach at Witney and its seasonal rhythm.
In practice, that means the river tends to run highest in winter and lowest in late summer and early autumn. The record low in September 2022 sits in the same part of the year as the typical low month, and the record high in January 2014 sits in the same part of the year as the typical high month. For anyone watching access steps, bank margins, or shallow holding water for fish, those are the months that usually matter most.
The hero number on this page is the current reading, set against the median for the same calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it shows whether today is ordinary for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.
At River Windrush at Witney, that comparison is best read with the 18-year record in mind. A level near the January median is a different situation from the same level in September, even if the number on the gauge is identical.
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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