Tofino Creek near the Mouth Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Tofino Creek near the Mouth in Canada, BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, BC, Canada
- Watershed south central vancouver island
- Primary gauge 08HB086 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Tofino Creek near the Mouth
Tofino Creek in South Central Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Season by season
This station’s seasonal shape is modest on paper but important on the ground. The typical high comes in November at 1.57 m (5.15 ft), and the typical low comes in August at 1.1 m (3.61 ft). That is a typical annual swing of 47.1 cm (18.5 in), so docks, pumps, and any intake set close to the waterline need some room for change over the year.
For this watershed, the regional pattern is the one to watch: mountain hydrology tends to build with snowpack and often peaks from May through July, while coastal systems can react quickly to fall and winter rain. For Tofino Creek, the monthly record still shows the late-year high rather than a spring peak, so the creek’s timing is something to watch on the calendar, not guess from the map.
Records and rises
The record high is 2.83 m (9.27 ft) in November 2016. The record low is -0.31 m (-1.01 ft) in October 2022. That span tells you the creek can move from a shallow autumn low to a much higher late-season crest within the same record.
The fastest 24-hour rise is 1.34 m (4.4 ft) in August 2015. For someone living or fishing here, that is the main warning-time number: the creek can climb fast enough to change access, bank condition, and shoreline setup in a day.
The fastest 24-hour drop is 81.6 cm (32.1 in) in November 2016. That kind of fall matters too, because a quick drop can leave gear high and dry after a sharp pulse has passed.
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 elevation alone. The date-based comparison is what tells you whether Tofino Creek is running above or below its usual level for today.
This station has 30 years on record, and it is operated through Water Survey of Canada. That long record is what makes the daily median useful: it puts today’s reading in context for cottagers, anglers, and anyone tracking changing water levels at the mouth.
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 17,900+ lakes and rivers
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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.
The largest lake in Norway read under 8 metres for decades and reads over 120 today. The water did not move; the ruler did. What the zero of a gauge is, why a record only means something on one reference, and what we do when the zero moves.
There was no rain. A slab of glacier let go above the Trishuli, and a river gauge reading normal at 8:40 was silent by 8:50. What a river network can see coming, what it cannot, and what warning has to look like when the water outruns the news.
For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.
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
