South Fork Licking River at Cynthiana Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for South Fork Licking River at Cynthiana in KY, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Water body SOUTH FORK LICKING RIVER AT CYNTHIANA
- Location KY, United States
- Watershed south fork licking
- Primary gauge 03252500 (USGS)
About South Fork Licking River at Cynthiana
South Fork Licking River in the South Fork Licking watershed in Kentucky.
What the record shows
The record at this station runs back more than 50 years.
The highest level in the file is 22.11 ft (6.74 m), reached in May 2020. The lowest is 4.53 ft (1.38 m), reached in October 2022. That spread is the range this reach has already shown on record, and it is a wide one for docks, low crossings, and intakes that sit close to the waterline.
The seasonal pattern is straightforward: the typical high point comes in February at 6.51 ft (1.98 m), and the typical low point comes in September at 4.92 ft (1.5 m). The typical annual swing is 19 in (48.3 cm). For a river user, that means the stage can move enough through the year to change access, depth at a landing, and the amount of margin under a fixed intake.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts here, so there is nothing to add on warning time.
The watershed
This gauge drains 621 sq mi (1608 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole South Fork Licking watershed.
For people living along the river, that upstream area matters because all rain and runoff in that catchment can show up at Cynthiana. The station sits on a river reach watched by USGS, and its peers in the same part of the basin tell you this is a connected network of small watersheds that can respond in step when the weather turns wet.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current stage compared with the median for this calendar day in the station record. That is better than raw elevation because the same number means something different in February than it does in September.
USGS is the operating agency here, and the record spans more than 50 years. The calendar-day median puts today’s reading against what is normal for this date at this site, which is the quickest way to judge whether the river is running high, low, or near its usual range.
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.
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