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Can Claude check river levels?

Not on its own. Claude can explain river stage, discharge and flood categories, but the reading at a gauge changes by the hour and lives in USGS and National Weather Service data that Claude does not read by default. Connect the free River Level server and Claude gets the current stage and flow at any active USGS stream gauge, how far the river is from flood stage, and the NWS forecast where one exists.

Connect free, no token River level MCP server

What Claude does alone, and what needs the server

Claude on its own

  • Explains stage, discharge and the NWS flood categories.
  • Reads a number you paste from a gauge page.

With the River Level server

  • Current stage and streamflow at any active USGS gauge, found by name, state or location.
  • Distance to NWS flood stage and forecast crests.
  • Daily history for 2 to 366 days.

A real call to the live server

We sent this to the hosted server on 2026-11-03. The answer below is the server's own text, not a mock-up. Live values will differ when you ask.

You ask

What is the Mississippi River at St. Louis doing right now, and how far is it from flood stage?

Tool call

get_river_level {"site":"07010000"}

Server answer

Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO (USGS 07010000): gage height (river stage) 3.59 ft, discharge (streamflow) 126,000 ft3/s, measured 2026-11-03T07:30:00+00:00. NWS flood status: below flood stage, 26.41 ft below flood stage (30 ft).

The server found the gauge number first with find_river_gauges ("Mississippi River St. Louis", MO), then read it.

Connect it in 1 minute

One URL, no token, no account. In Claude.ai or Claude Desktop open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste the URL.

Connector URL

https://river-level-mcp.lipmichal.workers.dev/mcp

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http river-level https://river-level-mcp.lipmichal.workers.dev/mcp

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "river-level": {
      "url": "https://river-level-mcp.lipmichal.workers.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

{
  "servers": {
    "river-level": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://river-level-mcp.lipmichal.workers.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

All 4 tools, sources and more prompts: River level MCP server · LakeLevelNow

Questions

Can Claude check river levels?
Not on its own. Claude can explain river stage, discharge and flood categories, but the reading at a gauge changes by the hour and lives in USGS and National Weather Service data that Claude does not read by default. Connect the free River Level server and Claude gets the current stage and flow at any active USGS stream gauge, how far the river is from flood stage, and the NWS forecast where one exists.
Is the data official?
Yes. It comes from USGS stream gauges and the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. USGS real-time values are provisional and can be revised.
Does it cover lakes too?
Lakes and reservoirs are in the separate Lake Level server, which reads reservoir elevation and full pool.
Is the server free?
Yes. The River Level server is free at its hosted URL with no token, key or account. The source is open on GitHub.

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