Big Sandy River at Louisa, 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 03215000 sits on the Big Sandy River and reads everything draining 3,897 square miles of the Tug basin. Its datum sits 512 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1940 to 1977, 36 years in all.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Levisa Fork at Paintsville, KY, reading 2,144 square miles. This gauge adds the 1,753 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Ohio River at Ashland, KY at 60,750 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 6% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Ohio River at Greenup Dam near Greenup, KY.

Normal flows here

The Big Sandy River runs a median of 1,650 cfs at this gauge across 36 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 7,210 cfs, and October the leanest at 440 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 87,500 cfs in 1955, and the lowest is 44 cfs in 1942.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1940 to 1977. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median. USGS stopped publishing a daily flow record at this gauge, so these are historical norms, not a baseline for current readings.

Flood stages and record crests

The Big Sandy River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 49 feet. NWS starts watching it at 45 feet. The highest crest on record is 48.4 feet, in April 1908.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FLRK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.