Kentucky River at Lock 8 near Camp Nelson, 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 03284500 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 4,414 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 520 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2003, 19 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 9 at Valley View, KY, reading 4,101 square miles. This gauge adds the 313 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 7 at Highbridge, KY at 5,036 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 88% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 6 near Salvisa, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 2,340 cfs at this gauge across 19 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 8,670 cfs, and September the leanest at 698 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 90,200 cfs in 2021, and the lowest is 3.9 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2003 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 28 feet. The highest crest on record is 47 feet, in April 2025.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CPNK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.