WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Withlacoochee River at Croom in FL, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Withlacoochee River at Croom sits in the Withlacoochee watershed in Florida.
The station’s record high is 12.97 ft (3.95 m), set in October 2024, and the record low is -1.78 ft (-0.54 m), set in June 2001. That is a wide spread for a river gauge, and it tells you this reach can sit very low for long stretches and then climb to a much higher stage.
The seasonal pattern is fairly clear. The highest typical month is September at 5.27 ft (1.61 m), and the lowest typical month is May at 1.9 ft (0.58 m). The typical annual swing is 3.4 ft (1.03 m). For anyone using a dock, crossing, or pump intake, that swing is the day-to-day difference between comfortable water and a tighter margin.
The regional rhythm fits the station record in a general way: June through September is the wetter season, while winter and spring bring the dry-season low flows. High water can also linger when the basin is slow to drain.
This gauge drains 810 sq mi (2,098 km2) upstream of the station. That is the contributing area behind the reading here, not the whole watershed name on the map.
For local users, that upstream area matters because it sets how much water has to move through this reach after rain. A larger catchment can mean a broader response window, but the station record is what matters at the bank: the river here has shown both a low point in June 2001 and a much higher crest in October 2024.
The hero number on this page is best read against the median value for this calendar day, not as a raw height by itself. A stage number only becomes useful when you compare it with what is normal for the same date at this station.
This is a USGS station, with more than 50 years on record. That long record makes the day-of-year median a better guide than the absolute elevation alone, because it shows whether the river is running below, near, or above its usual level for today.
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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