Kentucky River at Lock 7 at Highbridge, 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 03286500 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 5,036 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 503 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1993, 32 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 8 near Camp Nelson, KY, reading 4,414 square miles. This gauge adds the 622 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 6 near Salvisa, KY at 5,102 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 99% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 5 near Tyrone, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 2,500 cfs at this gauge across 32 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 10,600 cfs, and September the leanest at 692 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 116,000 cfs in 2025, and the lowest is 2.7 cfs in 2020.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1993 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 30 feet. NWS starts watching it at 26 feet. The highest crest on record is 53.1 feet, in December 1978.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HIBK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.