WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Wheeling Creek at Elm Grove in WV, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Wheeling Creek at Elm Grove is a river in the Upper Ohio-Wheeling watershed in West Virginia.
The station record runs for 50 years. The highest water in that record was 7.51 ft (2.29 m) in April 2024. The lowest was 1.14 ft (0.35 m) in October 2007.
For people near the creek, that spread matters. A high-water mark like 7.51 ft (2.29 m) tells you what the channel has already had to carry here. The low mark, 1.14 ft (0.35 m), shows how much the creek can fall back between wetter periods.
The seasonal pattern is clear enough for planning. March is the typical high-water month at 2.87 ft (0.87 m), while September is the typical low-water month at 1.86 ft (0.57 m). The typical annual swing is 12.1 in (30.7 cm). That is the range docks, intakes, and gravel bars have to live with from season to season.
This gauge drains 282 sq mi (730 km2) above the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole Upper Ohio-Wheeling watershed.
The regional pattern fits a steep Appalachian stream: winter and spring rain, plus melting snow, tend to build the annual highs, while summer often eases off between storms. On a creek like this, short-lived rises can matter as much as the seasonal cycle, so shore access and low crossings can change quickly after heavy rain.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading set against the median for the same calendar day in the station record. That is the useful comparison because a raw elevation alone does not tell you whether the creek is running high or low for this date.
Water Survey of Canada pages use the same idea with Water Survey of Canada records; here the agency is the U.S. Geological Survey. With more than 50 years of record, the day-specific median gives a steadier reference for cottagers, anglers, and flood-watchers than a single number by itself.
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.
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.
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.