North Fork Kentucky River at Whitesburg, 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 03277300 sits on the North Fork Kentucky River and reads everything draining 66 square miles of the North Fork Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 1,127 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 1999, 27 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from North Fork Kentucky River at Hazard, KY at 466 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 14% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The North Fork Kentucky River runs a median of 36 cfs at this gauge across 27 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 100 cfs, and October the leanest at 12 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 4,640 cfs in 2022, and the lowest is 1.3 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1999 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The North Fork Kentucky River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 10 feet. NWS starts watching it at 8 feet. The highest crest on record is 22 feet, in July 2022.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WHTK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.