WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Ross River at Ross River in YT, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
Ross River at Ross River sits in the Upper Pelly watershed in Yukon.
This station drains 7,174 km2 (2,770 sq mi) upstream of the gauge, so it reflects a large mountain catchment rather than a short local reach. For people watching water levels here, that upstream area is what sets the stage for the river’s response to snowmelt, rain, and seasonal storage.
The long record runs for 64 years.
The highest level in the record is 11.85 m (38.88 ft), in June 2013. The lowest level in the record is 9.31 m (30.54 ft), in October 2018. That spread matters: a dock, pump intake, or bank access has to work across a wide range, not just around one reading.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is May at 10.34 m (33.91 ft), and the lowest typical month is October at 9.77 m (32.05 ft). The typical annual swing is 56.8 cm (22.4 in). For a river used by cottagers and fishers, that is the range to expect when planning launch access, bank work, and shallow-water travel.
This is a subarctic mountain river, so the seasonal note lines up with a May-to-July high-water period and deeper winter lows. In this kind of river, summer can stay elevated longer than a flatland stream, so the useful question is not just whether it is high, but how long it stays there.
The hero number on this page is most useful when you compare today’s level with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is better than raw elevation because the same stage can mean very different things in May, October, or midwinter.
For a station with more than 64 years of record, that day-of-year comparison shows whether the river is running near its normal seasonal range or sitting well above or below it. Water Survey of Canada stations are best read that way when you want a practical sense of risk for access, banks, and intakes.
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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