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River Gauges (Stage, Flow, Flood Status)

Every river gauge the National Weather Service tracks, about 12,900 nationwide, snapshotted every 15 minutes: the latest observed stage in feet, flow in cubic feet per second, the NWS flood category (normal, action, minor, moderate, major, or low water), and, at the roughly one gauge in five that is a forecast point, the crest of the official River Forecast Center forecast with its time and flood category.

NOAA NWPSInfrastructure dataERCOT marketCAISO marketNYISO marketPJM marketSPP marketMISO marketISO-NE market
Query with the agentOpen on map
Native record
river gauge x 15-minute snapshot
15-minute snapshot publication cadence
Evidence
Observed market data
Published observations from the named source
In Ask the Grid
River gauges on the ERCOT map
Values for the live grid surface

Overview

Streamflow is the physical driver of hydroelectric output, low water and warm rivers constrain thermal-plant cooling, and a river at flood stage marks substation and line exposure, so the gauges are a grid signal wherever a market has hydro or riverside infrastructure. Stage is measured against each gauge's own datum and is not comparable between gauges; flow is. Source: NOAA National Water Prediction Service.

Query contract

For the current picture select the newest source_time and read every gauge in it; for history keep one row per lid per source_time.

Analysis rules

  • Compare flow_cfs across gauges, never stage_ft: stage is relative to each gauge's own datum.
  • Count gauges by flood_category within one source_time; the same gauge appears in every snapshot.

Interpretation

  • observed_at can be hours or days older than source_time where a gauge has stopped reporting; flood_category obs_not_current says so.
  • A gauge near a plant is not necessarily on the plant's river. Name the gauge and the distance rather than asserting the plant's inflow.

Access

Query from your own tools

Use the guarded HTTP endpoint directly, or connect an MCP client and load the dataset contract with describe_data before calling query_data.

ERCOT MCP CAISO MCP NYISO MCP PJM MCP SPP MCP MISO MCP ISO-NE MCP BPA MCP API reference
HTTP endpoint
POST /api/v1/datasets/nwps_gauges/query

Schema18

Column
Type
lidLowCardinality(String)
source_timeDateTime64(6, 'UTC')
nameString
stateLowCardinality(Nullable(String))
rfcLowCardinality(Nullable(String))
wfoLowCardinality(Nullable(String))
latitudeNullable(Float64)
longitudeNullable(Float64)
stage_ftNullable(Float64)
flow_cfsNullable(Float64)
observed_atNullable(DateTime64(6, 'UTC'))
flood_categoryLowCardinality(String)
forecast_peak_stage_ftNullable(Float64)
forecast_peak_flow_cfsNullable(Float64)
forecast_peak_atNullable(DateTime64(6, 'UTC'))
forecast_issued_atNullable(DateTime64(6, 'UTC'))
forecast_flood_categoryLowCardinality(String)
ingested_atDateTime64(6, 'UTC')

Sample data

lidsource_timenamestaterfcwfolatitudelongitudestage_ftflow_cfsobserved_atflood_categoryforecast_peak_stage_ftforecast_peak_flow_cfsforecast_peak_atforecast_issued_atforecast_flood_categoryingested_at
ZUNV22026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Blackwater River (VA) near ZUNIVASERFCAKQ36.906389-76.82027814.9419.0999999999999982026-09-19 15:45:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZUMM52026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zumbro River at Zumbro FallsMNNCRFCARX44.2856-92.435.917432026-09-19 16:30:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZUIN52026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zuni River above Black Rock ReservoirNMCBRFCABQ35.100278-108.7516672.873.92026-09-19 16:45:00.000000no_flooding3.45272026-09-25 08:00:00.0000002026-09-18 17:05:00.000000no_flooding2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZTNK22026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Pennsylvania Run near ZonetonKYOHRFCLMK38.087566-85.6424581.16∅2026-09-19 16:15:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZSRM22026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zekiah Swamp Run near NewtownMDMARFCLWX38.490556-76.9272220.47∅2026-09-19 16:15:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZSRC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111South San Ramon Creek above Amador Valley BlvdCACNRFCMTR37.72237-121.92261∅∅∅obs_not_current∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZPRF12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Hillsborough River Above Crystal Springs Near ZephyrhillsFLSERFCTBW28.185556-82.18416752.62∅2026-09-19 16:15:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZPHF12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Hillsborough River near Zephyrhills at State ParkFLSERFCTBW28.149722-82.2319441.942012026-09-19 16:00:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZPAM52026-09-19 17:45:03.267111North Fork Zumbro River near MazeppaMNNCRFCARX44.2575-92.4913851.5378.22026-09-19 16:30:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZOOM82026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Canyon Creek at Billings (Zoo Montana)MTMBRFCBYZ45.7314-108.6242.98∅2026-09-19 16:00:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZONI32026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Eagle Creek (IN) at ZionsvilleINOHRFCIND39.946389-86.2602781.58352026-09-19 16:45:00.000000no_flooding2.52542026-09-21 12:00:00.0000002026-09-19 14:48:00.000000no_flooding2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZOLO32026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zollner Creek near Mt AngelORNWRFCPQR45.100556-122.820556∅∅∅out_of_service∅∅∅∅out_of_service2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZNRC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111New River near New River WestmorlandCACNRFCPSR33.104722-115.6636114.563062026-09-19 16:45:00.000000no_flooding4.793562026-09-24 11:00:00.0000002026-09-19 15:43:00.000000no_flooding2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZMBO12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zimber Ditch at North CantonOHOHRFCCLE40.870278-81.4163894∅2026-09-19 16:30:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZLPP12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Connoquenessing Creek at ZelienoplePAOHRFCPBZ40.816944-80.24252.262482026-09-19 17:00:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZLMC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Line M - Lindbergh AvenueCACNRFCMTR37.697885-121.809463∅∅∅obs_not_current∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZLJC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Line J1 below Dublin BlvdCACNRFCMTR37.70494-121.924010.67∅2026-09-19 16:30:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZLGC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Line G1 - Dublin BlvdCACNRFCMTR37.70564-121.90457∅∅∅obs_not_current∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZKAF12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Gulf Tide Station Near ChassahowitzkaFLSERFCTBW28.657-82.7366-1.47∅2026-09-19 16:15:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZFSF12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Peace River at Zolfo SpringsFLSERFCTBW27.504167-81.8011116.743842026-09-19 16:30:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZENK12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Rattlesnake Creek (KS) near ZenithKSABRFCDDC38.0936-98.546111.70.12026-09-19 16:45:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZEEM42026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Macatawa River near ZeelandMINCRFCGRR42.779192-86.0183723.4502026-09-19 17:00:00.000000no_flooding∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZCRM72026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Castor River above ZalmaMOLMRFCPAH37.146667-90.0755561.03∅2026-09-19 16:45:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZCCC12026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Zaca Creek near BueltonCACNRFCLOX34.648611-120.1833331.57∅2026-09-19 16:45:00.000000not_defined∅∅∅∅fcst_not_current2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643
ZBQN72026-09-19 17:45:03.267111Atlantic Coast at Zeeks BasinNCSERFCILM33.954722-77.935∅∅∅out_of_service∅∅∅∅out_of_service2026-09-19 17:45:04.750643

Coverage

100.0% complete0 gap days1 days with data
Show coverage history
Coverage: 100.0%Days with data: 1Gaps: 0
2026
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