Snake Creek near Vulcan Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Snake Creek near Vulcan in AB, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AB, Canada
- Watershed little bow
- Primary gauge 05AC030 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Snake Creek near Vulcan
Snake Creek near Vulcan is in the Little Bow watershed in Alberta.
What the record shows
The station has 44 years of record, and the extremes are wide enough to matter for small-channel use. The record high is 2.29 m (7.5 ft), reached in April 2018. The record low is 0.31 m (1.03 ft), reached in September 2014. That is the range a bank line, crossing, or pump setup has to live with over time.
The sharpest 24-hour rise on file was 94.3 cm (3.1 ft), also in April 2018. For anyone watching for flood warning time, that is a fast change for a creek of this size. The fastest 24-hour drop was 44.2 cm (17.4 in), also in April 2018.
The seasonal pattern is not flat. The typical high month is January at 1.06 m (3.47 ft), and the typical low month is September at 0.38 m (1.25 ft). The typical annual swing is 67.6 cm (26.6 in). That is the spread between a winter high and a late-summer low that docks, intakes, and shallow crossings need to handle.
The watershed
The station drains 407 km2 (157 sq mi) above the gauge. That number is the upstream area feeding this site, not the whole Little Bow watershed.
This part of Alberta commonly sees late-spring movement from snowmelt, and summer storms can still push short, sharp rises. The record here shows both kinds of volatility at the gauge. For cottagers and anglers, the practical message is simple: expect the channel to change quickly during runoff periods, and expect low water late in the warm season to expose more of the bed and edges.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a level means little without context. The same number can be ordinary on one date and unusual on another.
At this station, Water Survey of Canada has more than 44 years on record to build that daily comparison.
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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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
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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
