Kentucky River at Lock 12 near Irvine, 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 03282120 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 2,916 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 590 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 2001 to 2021, 21 years in all.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 13 near Willow Shoals, KY, reading 2,784 square miles. This gauge adds the 132 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 11 near College Hill, KY at 3,219 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 91% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 10 near Winchester, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 1,590 cfs at this gauge across 21 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 5,910 cfs, and September the leanest at 546 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 85,000 cfs in 2021, and the lowest is 56 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2001 to 2021. 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 Kentucky River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 21 feet. NWS starts watching it at 17 feet. The highest crest on record is 40.3 feet, in March 2021.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RAVK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.