Sipsey Fork level at Sipsey
Alabama · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 02452505 — SIPSEY FORK AT SIPSEY, ALA
Reading taken · as of 48 min ago
High and likely stained — not a wading flow
At 2,760 CFS, this gauge is running 301% of normal for mid-September — above the 917 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 2 years of record (2023–2025).
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Flow history at Sipsey
Daily values from USGS 02452505, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About Sipsey Fork at Sipsey
In Alabama, below Lewis Smith Lake. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lewis Smith Lake. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Sipsey Fork at Sipsey — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lewis Smith Lake affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Sipsey Fork at Sipsey high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 917 CFS, from 2 years of record (2023–2025). Today is 301% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 02452505 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.