WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Sac River at Highway J below Stockton in MO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Sac River in the Sac watershed, Missouri, is monitored at Highway J below Stockton.
This site has 50 years on record. The highest level in that record was 22.81 ft (6.95 m) in December 2015, and the lowest was 5.41 ft (1.65 m) in October 2025. That span is the range this reach has already shown under real conditions, from high water that can overtop banks and strain access points to low water that can leave shallow crossings and intakes more exposed.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is May at 10.97 ft (3.35 m), while the lowest typical month is November at 5.96 ft (1.82 m). The typical annual swing is 5 ft (1.53 m). For anyone with a dock, pump, or bank access, that means the river does not sit at one level for long; it moves through a range that is large enough to matter for launching, drawing water, and keeping gear clear of the edge.
The gauge drains 1,292 sq mi (3,346 km2) upstream of the station. That is the contributing area for this reading, not the whole Sac watershed.
In this part of Missouri, river levels can change in any season when rain falls hard enough. Spring usually brings the fastest climbs, but summer and fall storms can still push water up quickly. On streams with spring influence, baseflow can stay steadier between storms. The site-specific record here is what matters most for local planning: it shows how high this reach has gone, how low it has fallen, and the season when the river usually runs highest.
This page’s hero number is the current river level compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today is running normal for this date, high for the season, or low for the season.
At this USGS station, the comparison is built from more than 50 years of record. If you are checking access, draft, or flood watch, the calendar-day median gives the better context than a single reading on its own.
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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