WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for St. Charles River at Vineland, CO. in CO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
St. Charles River at Vineland, CO. sits in the Upper Arkansas watershed in Colorado.
The river follows the snowmelt pattern common in this part of the West. June is the typical high point at 2.86 ft (0.87 m), while October is the typical low point at 2.32 ft (0.71 m). That seasonal spread is 6.5 in (16.6 cm), which is the range a dock, pump, or shallow crossing has to live with through the year.
For people watching water levels, that means spring is the period to expect the most water, while late summer into fall usually sits lower. The gauge does not need much movement to change conditions at the bank when the river is already near its low season.
The record high is 7.65 ft (2.33 m) in May 2021. The record low is 2.07 ft (0.63 m) in September 2022. Those two points show how wide the river can move on this site over the record.
There is no fastest 24-hour rise value in the facts here, so I will not put a number on warning time. Even so, the river’s mountain setting means short-term changes in late summer deserve attention, especially when storms drop water fast on a small basin.
This station has 48 years on record.
The number at the top of the page is most useful when set beside the median for the same calendar day, not just the raw height. A river level by itself can look ordinary or extreme without that daily context. The day-median comparison shows whether the river is running above or below its usual seasonal mark right now.
This station is a USGS site, and the long record helps keep that comparison grounded.
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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