South Fork Licking River at Hayes, 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 03253000 sits on the South Fork Licking River and reads everything draining 915 square miles of the South Fork Licking basin. Its datum sits 536 feet above sea level NAVD88. Daily flow has been on record here since 2013, 13 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

One gauged site sits upstream of here. The closest is South Fork Licking River at Cynthiana, KY, reading 621 square miles. This gauge adds the 294 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Licking River at Catawba, KY at 3,300 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 28% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Licking River at Hwy 536 near Alexandria, KY.

Normal flows here

The South Fork Licking River runs a median of 502 cfs at this gauge across 13 years of record. February is the fullest month at a median 1,440 cfs, and September the leanest at 30 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 33,500 cfs in 2025, and the lowest is 3.6 cfs in 2017.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 2013 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The highest crest on record is 22 feet, in May 2020.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HYSK2. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.