Kentucky River at Lock 14 at Heidelberg, 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 03282000 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 2,657 square miles of the Upper Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 625 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 49 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 13 near Willow Shoals, KY at 2,784 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 95% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 12 near Irvine, KY and Kentucky River at Lock 11 near College Hill, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 1,455 cfs at this gauge across 49 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 5,350 cfs, and September the leanest at 418 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 85,900 cfs in 1984, and the lowest is 45 cfs in 1988.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1977 to 2026. 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 20 feet. NWS starts watching it at 16 feet. The highest crest on record is 35.6 feet, in February 1939.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HLDK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.