WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for White River near Norfork in AR, United States, built from official government gauge data.
White River in the Middle White watershed, Arkansas.
On this reach, the seasonal pattern is modest compared with the records: the highest typical month is June at 8.34 ft (2.54 m), and the lowest typical month is November at 5.84 ft (1.78 m). That 30 in (76.2 cm) annual swing is the part a dock, ramp, or intake has to live with most years.
For people using the river, that means midsummer is usually the higher part of the cycle, while late fall is usually the lower part. The month-to-month change is not extreme in typical years, but it is enough to matter when a boat launch is shallow or a bank is already low.
The highest water in the record reached 34.78 ft (10.6 m) in April 2008. The lowest reached 3.01 ft (0.92 m) in November 2007. Those two points show how far this gauge can move beyond its usual seasonal range.
The station does not list a fastest 24-hour rise in the facts provided, so there is no short warning-time figure to add here. For flood watch, that missing number matters: without it, the best reference is the record range and the seasonal pattern above.
This USGS station has more than 30 years on record, so today’s reading is more useful when compared with the median for this calendar day than when read as a raw height. A single stage value only tells you where the water sits right now; the calendar-day median tells you whether it is running high or low for this date.
That difference is what helps on the ground. If you are checking a crossing, a bank, or a landing, the question is not just the number on the gauge, but whether that number is unusual for today and how much room is left before the river gets into the part of its range that causes trouble.
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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