Kentucky River at Lock 10 near Winchester, 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 03284000 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 3,955 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 556 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 47 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 11 near College Hill, KY, reading 3,219 square miles. This gauge adds the 736 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 9 at Valley View, KY at 4,101 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 96% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 8 near Camp Nelson, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 2,225 cfs at this gauge across 47 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 8,020 cfs, and September the leanest at 554 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 99,100 cfs in 1979, and the lowest is 22 cfs in 2000.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1977 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Kentucky River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 26 feet. NWS starts watching it at 24 feet. The highest crest on record is 40.1 feet, in December 1978.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FODK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.