About this river
Ohio River is a 14.3 mile river near Lakeside Rentals in Kentucky. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Ohio River at Smithland Dam, Smithland, KY (site 03399800). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 9. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1994 to 2026
Ohio River typically runs highest in March, at a median 337,000 cfs, and lowest in September, at 36,250 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 1,170,000 cfs, in 2011.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 244,000 | 125,000 to 390,000 | |
| February | 284,000 | 175,000 to 442,000 | |
| March | 337,000 | 233,000 to 474,000 | |
| April | 298,000 | 186,000 to 455,000 | |
| May | 254,000 | 150,000 to 421,000 | |
| June | 154,000 | 80,900 to 242,500 | |
| July | 82,900 | 58,500 to 149,000 | |
| August | 57,200 | 38,100 to 91,600 | |
| September | 36,250 | 24,300 to 69,650 | |
| October | 46,300 | 28,200 to 91,800 | |
| November | 94,800 | 54,400 to 167,000 | |
| December | 190,000 | 99,900 to 303,000 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 32 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Ohio River at Smithland Dam, Smithland, KY (site 03399800). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
2 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of Ohio River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- BirdsvilleOhio RiverPublic
- Bay City - Russell C. Davidson MemorialOhio RiverPublic
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Ohio River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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