About FlowMissouri
FlowMissouri is a live, animated map of every USGS river gauge in Missouri, plus the Mississippi and Missouri rivers along its borders. At a glance it shows which rivers are running high, which are low, and where water is moving.
Thank you
FlowMissouri doesn't run any sensors of its own. Everything on the map is collected by the agencies below, who maintain the equipment out in the field and publish the readings freely. This site just draws them.
U.S. Geological Survey
Runs the river and spring gauges behind the map, many in partnership with state and local agencies. Its crews visit gauges to measure flow by hand and keep the records going, some for a century or more. Those long records are what let the map tell "high for mid-October" from ordinary.
NOAA National Weather Service
Sets the flood stages for Missouri's rivers and issues the river forecasts shown on gauge cards.
The river network comes from NHDPlus, from the U.S. EPA and USGS. The map refreshes about every hour. Most readings are provisional: the agencies that publish them review and sometimes revise them later.
How to read the map
Each river is colored by how its flow right now compares with the same calendar day across that gauge's history, often decades of records. So "high" means high for mid-October, not high compared with a spring flood.
- Amber to fire: running low, below most years for the date
- Calm teal: about normal
- Electric blue to white: running high
- Magenta pulses: at or above National Weather Service flood stage
Light pulses travel downstream faster as flow rises. Click any gauge for its river level, flow, flood stages and, where available, the National Weather Service forecast. Press space or the play button to replay the past week.
Also on the map
Water temperature and, at the few gauges that measure it, nitrate. Star the gauges you care about and they collect in My gauges, which you can add to your phone's home screen.
Not for emergencies
FlowMissouri is an independent project and isn't affiliated with any of the agencies above. It's built for understanding and curiosity, not for safety decisions. During a flood, follow the National Weather Service and your local emergency officials.
Contact
Questions, ideas or a reading that looks wrong? Email admin@flowiowa.com.