The rivers endpoint provides access to the latest river and lakes gauge observations. The primary source of our gauge observations data is the NOAA Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS). Gauge observations include information on the current water level or flow, flood stages, and low water thresholds.
Use our wizard to try out this endpoint
The following actions are supported with the rivers endpoint:
| :id | Requesting data by using the :id action is used for returning data for a particular item that has an ID associated with it. This is the primary method for requesting general weather information for a single location (observations, forecasts, advisories, etc.) as the location's name or a zip code serves as the id. Other endpoints may expect a certain value for the ID, such as storm cells whose ID value is a combination of the radar site identifier and unique identifier assigned to every storm cell. Refer to an endpoint's detailed documentation for specific information regarding how to use the :id action. |
| closest | The closest action will query the API for data that is closest to the requested place and return the results, if any, in order from closest to farthest. If no limit is provided in the request, then only the closest single result will be returned. If your request does not return results, you may try setting or increasing the radius being used. |
| within | The within action allows for returning data within a variety of different geometrical regions. Currently supported geometries include a circle (requires a center point and radius), rectangle (requires two coordinate points defining the top-left and bottom-right corners) and polygon (requires at least three coordinate points). Unlike the closest action, the results will not be returned in any particular order based on distance. |
| search | The search action is used as a more general query method and expects the query to be defined with the custom query for the request. Unlike the closest action, results will not be returned in any particular order. |
The following parameters are optional unless otherwise noted:
| p | p=:place |
Defines the location to query data for. Refer to the list of supported place value formats. |
| limit | limit=:total |
The total number of results to return as an integer. Each endpoint may have a set maximum for this value depending on usage. The default limit is 1 if not specified. The maximum limit for this endpoint is 250. |
| radius | radius=:distance:unit |
When requesting the closest results within a circle, the radius determines how far from the specified location to search. A valid unit value must be included in your radius value, e.g., "5mi", "10km", "25miles". If no unit is provided, your value is assumed to be in meters by default. Most endpoints utilize a default radius of 50 miles, though some endpoints, such as lightning, may have tighter restrictions specified. |
| minradius | minradius=:distance:unit |
When requesting the closest results within a circle, the minradius determines how far from the specified location to search to begin searching results. A valid unit value must be included in your minimum radius value, e.g., "5mi", "10km", or "25miles". If no unit is provided, your value is assumed to be in meters by default. When combined with the radius parameter, donut style queries can be made for point data, such as lightning. |
| skip | skip=:number |
Used to skip over a specific number of results in the data set. |
| filter | filter=:string |
Predefined filters for limiting the results. The filter value can be a single, comma-delimited or a semicolon delimited string of filter names. |
| query | query=:string |
Used to filter results based on certain fields in the data set. See Advanced Queries for more details. |
| sort | sort=:string |
Used to sort results based on certain fields in the data set. See Sorting for more details. |
| fields | fields=:string |
Provides a comma separated list of values for the API to return. This parameter is often used to limit the amount of data returned. See Reducing Output. |
| format | format=:string |
Defines the API output format. The available options include:format=json - Standard JSON output. This is the default.format=geojson - API will output GeoJSON.If obtaining GeoJSON and using the fields parameter, be sure to include loc to ensure geographical references are available in the response.
|
| from | from=:string |
Returns the results starting from the value specified. For best practices we recommend using the to parameter as well to define a specific time frame.Supports a UNIX timestamp or a specific date string. Alternatively, common date formats supported by the PHP strtotime() function will be accepted; however, commas are not accepted. Examples: from=tomorrow from=friday from=1302883980 from=MM/DD/YYYY from=YYYY/MM/DD from=+2hours from=2017-02-27 5:00 PM |
| to | to=:string |
Returns the results between now and the value specified. For best practices we recommend using the from parameter as well to define a specific time frame. When used in conjunction with the from parameter, the value of to will be relative to the value of from, not relative to the current time. Supports a UNIX timestamp or a specific date string. Alternatively, common date formats supported by the PHP strtotime() function will be accepted; however, commas are not accepted. Examples: to=+6hours to=+5days to=1302883980 to=MM/DD/YYYY to=YYYY/MM/DD to=2017-02-27 5:00 PM |
The following filters can be passed to the filter parameter to reduce the results that are returned:
| outofservice | Return observations for gauges marked as out of service |
| inservice | Return observations for gauges that are not marked as out of service |
| obsnotcurrent | Return observations for gauges that have not reported updated information recently |
| notdefined | Return observations for gauges that do not have defined flood categories |
| lowthreshold | Return observations for gauges that are currently reporting at or below their low water threshold |
| noflooding | Return observations for gauges that are known not to be flooding |
| action | Return observations for gauges that are known to be near flood level. |
| flood | Return observations for gauges that are known to have minor flooding |
| minor | Return observations for gauges that are known to have minor flooding |
| moderate | Return observations for gauges that are known to have moderate flooding |
| major | Return observations for gauges that are known to have major flooding |
| allflood | Return observations for gauges that are known to have any level of flooding |
| heighttype | Return observations for gauges that report water height |
| flowtype | Return observations for gauges that report water flow rate |
Use the following supported property keys when creating custom queries for your requests:
| id | Query by river gauge ID |
| dt | Query by the date/time of the observation. Example: /rivers/search?query=dt:-2hours&limit=1&sort=dt Will return up to 100 river gauge observations that updated within the past two hours, sorted oldest to newest |
| status | Query based on the gauge status: out_of_service - Gauge is known to be out of service obs_not_current - Gauge has not reported updated observations recently not_defined - Gauge is reporting observations but has no action/flooding levels defined, thus cannot determine if flooding low_threshold - Gauge is reporting levels below the defined low water threshold no_flooding - Gauge is reporting observations and below flood and action levels action - Gauge is reporting observations at or above action levels. Normally means near flood stage minor - Gauge is reporting levels at or above the minor flood level moderate - Gauge is reporting levels at or above the defined moderate flood level major - Gauge is reporting levels at or above the defined major flood level |
| statuscode | Query based on the numerical version of the status code: out_of_service: -1 obs_not_current: 0 not_defined: 1 low_threshold: 3 no_flooding: 5 action: 7 minor: 9 moderate: 11 major: 13 |
| hasimpacts | Query stations that provide impact information based on flood levels. |
| name | Query by river gauge name |
| waterbody | Query by the body of water the river gauge is on |
| state | Query by the two letter state abbreviation the river gauge is within |
| country | Query by the two letter country abbreviation the river gauge is within |
You can use the following fields to sort data. Review the sorting docs page for more information on the sort functionality.
| id | Sort by the river gauge IDs |
| dt | Sort by the date/time of the observation |
| status | Sort by the river status string |
| statuscode | Sort by the numeric version of the river status |
| hasimpact | Sort by the boolean profile.hasImpacts flag |
| name | Sort by the gauge names |
| waterbody | Sort by the gauge waterbody names |
| state | Sort by the two letter state abbreviations the gauges are within |
| country | Sort by the two letter country abbreviations the gauges are within |
The /[:endpoint]/[:action]? portion within the query template below can be exchanged with any of the examples. Also, please note you will need to input your client credentials in the [ID] and [SECRET] fields which can be found under the Apps section of the members area.
https://api.aerisapi.com/[:endpoint]/[:action]?client_id=[ID]&client_secret=[SECRET]
Return observations for up to 10 gauges near Houston, Texas./rivers/houston,tx?limit=10&
Return observations for up to 10 gauges near Houston, Texas that are reporting flood stage/rivers/houston,tx?filter=allflood&limit=10&
Return observations for up to 50 gauges within the state of Texas that are reporting minor flooding/rivers/search?query=state:tx&filter=minor&limit=50&
The following is an example of what each object in the response will consist of. Depending on your requested action, the response may contain multiple instances of this object within an array.
{
"success": true,
"error": null,
"response": [{
"id": "SAVM5",
"loc": {
"long": -93.329444,
"lat": 44.788056
},
"ob": {
"timestamp": 1528304400,
"dateTimeISO": "2018-06-06T12:00:00-05:00",
"heightFT": 694.65,
"heightM": 211.73,
"flowCFS": 7810,
"flowCMS": 221.15,
"secondary": null,
"status": "no_flooding",
"statusCode": 5,
"impact": null
},
"place": {
"name": "savage",
"state": "mn",
"country": "us"
},
"profile": {
"tz": "America\/Chicago",
"waterbody": "minnesota river",
"cats": {
"actionFT": 697,
"actionM": 212.45,
"floodFT": 702,
"floodM": 213.97,
"moderateFT": 710,
"moderateM": 216.41,
"majorFT": 712,
"majorM": 217.02,
"lowthreshM": null,
"lowthreshFT": null
},
"hasImpacts": true
},
"relativeTo": {
"lat": 44.8408,
"long": -93.29828,
"bearing": 203,
"bearingENG": "SSW",
"distanceKM": 6.359,
"distanceMI": 3.951
}
}]
}
{
"success": true,
"error": null,
"response": [{
"id": "SAVM5",
"loc": {
"long": -93.329444,
"lat": 44.788056
},
"ob": {
"timestamp": 1528304400,
"dateTimeISO": "2018-06-06T12:00:00-05:00",
"heightFT": 694.65,
"heightM": 211.73,
"flowCFS": 7810,
"flowCMS": 221.15,
"secondary": null,
"status": "no_flooding",
"statusCode": 5,
"impact": null
},
"place": {
"name": "savage",
"state": "mn",
"country": "us"
},
"profile": {
"tz": "America\/Chicago",
"waterbody": "minnesota river",
"cats": {
"actionFT": 697,
"actionM": 212.45,
"floodFT": 702,
"floodM": 213.97,
"moderateFT": 710,
"moderateM": 216.41,
"majorFT": 712,
"majorM": 217.02,
"lowthreshM": null,
"lowthreshFT": null
},
"hasImpacts": true
},
"relativeTo": {
"lat": 44.8408,
"long": -93.29828,
"bearing": 203,
"bearingENG": "SSW",
"distanceKM": 6.359,
"distanceMI": 3.951
}
}]
}
The following properties will be provided in every response object:
Last modified: October 05, 2022