Kentucky River at Lock 9 at Valley View, 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 03284230 sits on the Kentucky River and reads everything draining 4,101 square miles of the Lower Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 538 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2010, 16 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Kentucky River at Lock 10 near Winchester, KY, reading 3,955 square miles. This gauge adds the 146 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 8 near Camp Nelson, KY at 4,414 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 93% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 7 at Highbridge, KY.

Normal flows here

The Kentucky River runs a median of 2,315 cfs at this gauge across 16 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 9,760 cfs, and September the leanest at 666 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 92,100 cfs in 2021, and the lowest is 59 cfs in 2020.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2010 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

NWS action stage at this gauge is 28 feet. The highest crest on record is 41.7 feet, in April 2025.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge VLVK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.