Sugar River near Verona Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Sugar River near Verona in WI, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location WI, United States
- Watershed sugar 0004
- Primary gauge 05435950 (USGS)
About Sugar River near Verona
The Sugar River in the Sugar watershed, Wisconsin, is measured at Verona.
What the record shows
This station has more than 17 years on record with the USGS.
The record high is 9.99 ft (3.05 m), set in August 2018. The record low is 2.78 ft (0.85 m), set in September 2023. That gap is what matters for anyone watching banks, docks, or a low water intake: this river has shown a wide range at this point.
Seasonally, the typical high comes in April at 3.4 ft (1.03 m), and the typical low comes in February at 3.06 ft (0.93 m). The typical annual swing is 4.1 in (10.3 cm), so the day-to-day seasonal movement here is modest compared with the record range.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed for this station.
The watershed
The gauge drains 82.7 sq mi (214 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Sugar watershed.
For people living along the river, that upstream area is the part to watch when weather turns wet. The regional pattern is simple: spring snowmelt sets the annual peaks, summer thunderstorms can produce sharp rises, and long winter ice cover is part of the yearly cycle on lakes and rivers in this part of the Midwest.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not as a raw stage by itself. That comparison tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for the date.
That is the better tool because a single elevation value does not say whether the water is high for late winter, low for spring, or right where the river usually sits. With more than 17 years on record at USGS, the calendar-day median gives you the local context that matters for crossings, shoreline work, and fishing access.
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
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
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Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
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
