Ohio River at Louisville, 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 03294500 sits on the Ohio River and reads everything draining 91,170 square miles of the Silver-Little Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 373 feet above sea level NGVD29. Daily flow has been on record here since 1929, 97 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is Ohio River at Water Tower at Louisville, KY, reading 91,048 square miles. Downstream the next reading comes from Ohio River below Riverview Pk near Louisville, KY at 91,193 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 100% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Ohio River runs a median of 82,200 cfs at this gauge across 97 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 215,000 cfs, and September the leanest at 23,200 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 1,110,000 cfs in 1937, and the lowest is 877 cfs in 2010.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1929 to 2025. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Ohio River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 55 feet. NWS starts watching it at 53 feet. The highest crest on record is 85.4 feet, in January 1937.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MLPK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.