Kentucky River at Lock 2 at Lockport, 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 03290500 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 6,180 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Only 5,984 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 433 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1977, 43 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 4 at Frankfort, KY, reading 5,411 square miles. This gauge adds the 769 square miles that drain in between.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 4,100 cfs at this gauge across 43 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 13,200 cfs, and September the leanest at 944 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 123,000 cfs in 2025, and the lowest is 112 cfs in 1999.

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 33 feet. NWS starts watching it at 30 feet. The highest crest on record is 56.9 feet, in January 1937.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge LPTK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.