WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Teton River below South Fork near Choteau MT in MT, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Teton River below South Fork near Choteau MT sits in the Teton watershed in Montana.
This station drains 110 sq mi (285 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the whole Teton watershed.
For people watching the river, the seasonal pattern is straightforward: the highest typical month is June at 4.83 ft (1.47 m), and the lowest typical month is March at 3.55 ft (1.08 m). The typical annual swing is 15.4 in (39 cm). In practice, that means the river is usually a bit higher in early summer than late winter, so docks, intakes, and crossings need to be set with that range in mind.
The record range is wider than the typical season. The record high is 7.89 ft (2.4 m) in June 2018, and the record low is 3.41 ft (1.04 m) in February 2018. Those are the extremes on this station’s record and show how far the river can move beyond its usual seasonal level.
The station has 28 years on record. That is enough history to compare this year’s behaviour with a normal day, not just with one wet or dry spell. In this part of the West, the regional rhythm is usually spring rise and summer decline, with winter low flows; the station record here fits that general pattern through its June high and March low.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts for this station, so there is nothing specific to add on short-notice flood response.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the USGS record. That is more useful than raw elevation alone, because a river at the same height can mean very different things in June and in March.
USGS has 28 years of record here, so the day-by-day median is grounded in a long local history. For someone living near the river or fishing it, that comparison tells you whether the water is running above, below, or near its usual level for this date.
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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