Rough River Lake near Falls of Rough Water Level
Live lake level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rough River Lake near Falls of Rough in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Water body ROUGH RIVER LAKE NEAR FALLS OF ROUGH
- Location KY, United States
- Watershed rough
- Primary gauge 03318005 (USGS)
About Rough River Lake near Falls of Rough
Rough River Lake in the Rough watershed, Kentucky, sits in the Appalachian foothills of the United States.
What the record shows
The record on this station is short, at more than 3 years, but it already shows a wide range. The highest level on record is 130.11 ft (39.66 m) in April 2025. The lowest is 69.88 ft (21.3 m) in March 2026.
The seasonal pattern is clear too. The highest typical month is June at 103.3 ft (31.49 m), while the lowest typical month is December at 70.71 ft (21.55 m). That makes the typical annual swing 32.6 ft (9.93 m).
For people who use this lake, that is a meaningful difference between dock season and low-water season. A fixed intake, ramp, or shoreline setup has to tolerate that range.
The watershed
This basin sits in Appalachian-foothill country, where rain-on-saturated-ground floods are a known pattern and the sharpest rises tend to come in winter and spring. In a steep basin, water can move from the hills into the lake quickly, so a calm morning can change fast after a strong rain.
I do not have a fastest 24-hour rise in the facts here, so I will not guess at how quickly this lake can climb on the worst days. The record high in April 2025 and the low in March 2026 still show that this is a lake with real room to move over a short record.
Reading the hero number
The number shown on the page is most useful when it is compared with the median for this calendar day, not just read as an absolute elevation. That comparison tells you whether the lake is sitting high or low for this date in its own record.
This station is operated by the USGS, and the day-of-year median gives a better sense of what is normal for now than a single elevation does. With more than 3 years on record, that context is still limited, but it is better than looking at the raw level alone.
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.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
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.
Alerts that watch the water for you
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.
Where Nibi comes from
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.
Coverage
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.
Free forever, funded by members
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.
Water Stories
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Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.
How every number is computed - About the platform
