Red River at Clay City, 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 03283500 sits on the Red River and reads everything draining 362 square miles of the Upper Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 600 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1931 to 2024, 86 years in all.

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 Kentucky River at Lock 10 near Winchester, KY at 3,955 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 9% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Red River runs a median of 168 cfs at this gauge across 86 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 641 cfs, and September the leanest at 34 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 26,100 cfs in 1979, and the lowest is 1.2 cfs in 1944.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1931 to 2024. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median. USGS stopped publishing a daily flow record at this gauge, so these are historical norms, not a baseline for current readings.

Flood stages and record crests

The Red River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 17 feet. NWS starts watching it at 13 feet. The highest crest on record is 26.8 feet, in December 1978.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CYCK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.