WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Styx River at Seminole, Ala in AL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Styx River at Seminole, Ala is a gauged river in the Perdido watershed in Alabama.
This station has more than 14 years on record. The high-water mark is 20.81 ft (6.34 m), set in September 2020. The low-water mark is 7.1 ft (2.16 m), set in February 2026.
The seasonal pattern is modest but real. September is the highest typical month at 9.41 ft (2.87 m), while January is the lowest typical month at 8.6 ft (2.62 m). The typical annual swing is 9.7 in (24.6 cm). For someone with a dock, a pump, or a shallow crossing, that means the river usually stays within a fairly narrow band, but it can still jump well beyond that in a wet spell.
The catchment above this station is 260 sq mi (673 km2), so this gauge is watching the water draining to this point, not the whole watershed name by itself.
The Perdido basin follows rain-driven Gulf South timing. Winter and spring rains often set the annual high water, and tropical systems can bring sharp rises in summer and fall. Between storms, warm-season flow often settles lower.
That matches what the record here shows: the highest typical month is September, and the lowest typical month is January. The river’s record high also landed in September 2020, which is the month when tropical-season water can arrive fast.
The number on the page should be read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw stage height on its own. That comparison tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for today, which is more useful for access, bank conditions, and flood watch than the absolute reading alone.
This station is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, and its 14-year record gives that daily comparison a useful baseline.
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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