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OHIO RIVER

River Levels • Streamflow • Hydrology

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Total streamflow across the Ohio River was last observed at 173,400 cfs, and is expected to yield approximately 343,935 acre-ft of water today; about 75% of normal. Average streamflow for this time of year is 231,377 cfs, with recent peaks last observed on 2021-08-25 when daily discharge volume was observed at 29,203,700 cfs.

Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the Ohio River At Old Shawneetown reporting a streamflow rate of 259,000 cfs. However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the Ohio River At Ironton with a gauge stage of 34.02 ft. This river is monitored from 7 different streamgauging stations along the Ohio River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 690 ft, the Ohio River At Sewickley.

The Ohio River is a 981-mile-long river that flows through six U.S. states. It was a significant pathway for westward expansion and played a vital role in the development of the Midwest. The river's hydrology is influenced by precipitation and snowmelt, and it is now heavily managed with a series of locks and dams to aid in navigation and control flooding. The two largest reservoirs on the river are the 50-mile-long Kinzua Dam and the 104-mile-long Barkley Dam. The river provides a source of drinking water for millions of people and supports agricultural activities such as crop irrigation. Recreation opportunities include fishing, boating, and camping along the river's banks. The Ohio River remains an important economic and cultural resource for the region.

November 21, 2024

Last Updated	2024-11-20
Discharge Volume	343,935 ACRE-FT
Streamflow	173,400.0 cfs +55300.0 cfs (+46.82%)
Percent of Normal	74.94%
Maximum	29,203,700.0 cfs 2021-08-25
Seasonal Avg	231,377 cfs

History of the River

The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the midwestern United States that flows southwesterly from western Pennsylvania south of Lake Erie to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the second largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 15 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for three million people.The lower Ohio River just below Louisville is obstructed by rapids known as the Falls of the Ohio where the water level falls 26ft. in 2 miles and is impassible for navigation. The McAlpine Locks and Dam, a shipping canal bypassing the rapids, now allows commercial navigation from the Forks of the Ohio at Pittsburgh to the Port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico.
The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca, Ohi:yo', lit. "Good River". European discovery of the Ohio River may be attributed to English explorers from Virginia in the latter half of the 17th century. In his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781–82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted." In the late 18th century, the river was the southern boundary of the Northwest Territory. It became a primary transportation route for pioneers during the westward expansion of the early U.S.
The river is sometimes considered as the western extension of the Mason–Dixon Line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland, and thus part of the border between free and slave territory, and between the Northern and Southern United States or Upper South. Where the river was narrow, it was the way to freedom for thousands of slaves escaping to the North, many helped by free blacks and whites of the Underground Railroad resistance movement.
The Ohio River is a climatic transition area, as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical and humid continental climate areas. It is inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. In winter, it regularly freezes over at Pittsburgh but rarely farther south toward Cincinnati and Louisville. At Paducah, Kentucky, in the south, near the Ohio's confluence with the Mississippi, it is ice-free year-round.