WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Suncook River at North Chichester in NH, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Suncook River at North Chichester sits in the Winnipesaukee River watershed in New Hampshire.
The station record runs for more than 19 years, and the extremes are clear. The high-water mark is 11.89 ft (3.62 m) in March 2010. The low-water mark is 2.14 ft (0.65 m) in September 2020.
The seasonal pattern is modest compared with those bookends. The typical high point comes in April at 4.38 ft (1.33 m), while the typical low point comes in September at 2.81 ft (0.86 m). The usual annual swing is 18.8 in (47.7 cm).
For someone with a dock, intake, or shallow crossing, that means spring water is usually the time to watch, and late summer is the time when depth is most likely to tighten. The record high shows the river can move well outside its usual band, while the September low shows how much room there is between average autumn water and the lowest level on record.
This gauge drains 157 sq mi (407 km2) upstream of the station. That area is what the river has to carry from rain and snowmelt before it reaches North Chichester.
In New England, the seasonal rhythm usually means spring snowmelt freshet, with the largest floods often tied to rain-on-snow events or tropical remnants. Summer low flows are part of the normal pattern. On this river, that lines up with the April high and the September low in the record.
The hero number on the page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the same level can mean different things in different seasons.
A value above the daily median suggests the river is running higher than usual for this date; a value below it suggests the opposite. At a USGS station with more than 19 years on record, that day-by-day comparison gives the best quick read on where the river stands right now.
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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