Barren River at Bowling Green, KY Water Level Today

NWS river forecast

Forecast from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Issued a few times a day and only while a forecast is active. Not for navigation.

Last 30 days

About this gauge

USGS gauge 03314500 sits on the Barren River and reads everything draining 1,849 square miles of the Barren basin. Only 1,362 square miles of that contributes flow in a normal year; the rest is closed basin that does not drain to the river. Its datum sits 409 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1965, 54 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Barren River near Finney, KY, reading 942 square miles. This gauge adds the 907 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Green River at Lock 4 at Woodbury, KY at 5,404 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 34% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Barren River runs a median of 2,235 cfs at this gauge across 54 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 4,700 cfs, and August the leanest at 358 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 57,500 cfs in 1975, and the lowest is 19 cfs in 2007.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1965 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Barren River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 28 feet. NWS starts watching it at 26 feet. The highest crest on record is 52.2 feet, in January 1913.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BWGK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.