Middle Fork Kentucky River at Tallega, 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 03281000 sits on the Middle Fork Kentucky River and reads everything draining 537 square miles of the Middle Fork Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 642 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1961, 65 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Two gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Middle Fork Kentucky River at Hwy28 near Buckhorn, KY, reading 421 square miles. This gauge adds the 116 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Kentucky River at Lock 14 at Heidelberg, KY at 2,657 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 20% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Kentucky River at Lock 13 near Willow Shoals, KY and Kentucky River at Lock 12 near Irvine, KY.

Normal flows here

The Middle Fork Kentucky River runs a median of 326 cfs at this gauge across 65 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,250 cfs, and August the leanest at 89 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 12,200 cfs in 2009, and the lowest is 3.7 cfs in 2002.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1961 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The highest crest on record is 43.3 feet, in January 1957.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge TLLK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.