South Fork Kentucky River at Booneville, 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 03281500 sits on the South Fork Kentucky River and reads everything draining 722 square miles of the South Fork Kentucky basin. Its datum sits 642 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow is on record here from 1925 to 2024, 91 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 14 at Heidelberg, KY at 2,657 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 27% 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 South Fork Kentucky River runs a median of 330 cfs at this gauge across 91 years of record. March is the fullest month at a median 1,250 cfs, and September the leanest at 51 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 52,500 cfs in 2021, and the lowest is -0.0 cfs in 2008.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1925 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 South Fork Kentucky River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 27 feet. NWS starts watching it at 21.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 44.3 feet, in March 2021.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BOOK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.