WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Yarrow Water at Craig Douglas in Scotland, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
Yarrow Water at Craig Douglas is a gauged river in Scotland.
The station above Craig Douglas drains 116 km2 (44.8 sq mi), so the level here reflects rain falling on a modest upland catchment rather than a large river system. That size helps explain why the gauge can move quickly when weather turns wet.
The seasonal pattern is clear. January is the typical high month at 0.5 m (1.63 ft), while July is the typical low month at 0.26 m (0.85 ft). For anyone taking water, mooring a boat, or watching a private intake, that is the rhythm to plan around: wetter winter and early-year conditions, then a lower summer reach.
The typical annual swing is 23.8 cm (9.4 in). That is not a huge range, but on a small river it is enough to change how shallow runs, bank edges, and access points feel from one season to the next.
The record high is 1.83 m (5.99 ft) in November 2009. The record low is 0.11 m (0.35 ft) in August 2021. Those two marks show how far this river has been pushed at both ends of the scale in the station record.
On a rain-fed coastal-plain and piedmont river, autumn and winter storms can arrive with water already running high, and the record book here shows that the gauge has responded strongly to that kind of event. The low-water record in late summer is the other side of the same pattern: a reach that can settle down hard in warm, drier stretches.
The hero number on this page is most useful when it is set against the median for the same calendar day, not against a raw stage number on its own. A plain reading can be hard to compare from one station to another, but the day-median view tells you whether the river is running high or low for this date at SEPA’s gauge, using this station’s own record.
That matters here because the river’s usual range is seasonal. A level that looks ordinary in winter may be notable in summer, and the calendar-day comparison makes that difference visible for people who are checking conditions before a crossing, a day on the water, or a pump start.
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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