Real-Time Monitoring Network

Slope Hydrologic Monitoring Network

Soil moisture and weather data across Eastern Kentucky’s landslide-prone terrain

Data displayed on this service is provisional and should be used for informational purposes only. For more information about the network, data, or landslide hazards in Kentucky, please contact the KGS Landslide Hazards and Engineering Team.

24 Monitoring Stations Weather station and soil moisture sensors logging volumetric water content and matric potential at two depths. Values on map show the average soil saturation across all depths at that station — the ratio of current soil moisture to the maximum recorded value at each sensor. Click the "Saturation" button in the basemap switcher to toggle coloring by 24h rainfall instead. View details for all stations.

Landslide Susceptibility Layer Toggle the Landslide Susceptibility button to overlay KGS's landslide susceptibility model — a lidar-derived, machine-learning classification of slopes prone to landslides. More information.

14-Day History Click any station bubble to view sensor readings for the most recent two-week period. The time slider allows you to step back through the 14-day soil saturation or 24-hour precipitation history.

Live NEXRAD Radar Toggle the Radar button to overlay real-time precipitation map from the National Weather Service NEXRAD network.

Auto-Refresh Toggle Auto-refresh in the map controls to automatically reload station moisture data every 45 minutes. NEXRAD radar tiles refresh automatically on the same interval whenever the radar overlay is active

Time Slider Step back through up to 14 days of soil saturation or 24-hour precipitation history (radar data does not go back in time) using the Time Slider control. Drag left to travel back in time — marker colors update to reflect conditions at that time. Drag fully right to return to live data

Basemap Switcher Switch between ESRI Topo and Kentucky Aerial 3-inch imagery using the basemap control at the top of the map. The aerial layer uses a neutral gray base to fill areas outside KY coverage

Sensor Specifications Network instruments include TEROS 12 soil moisture, TEROS 21 matric potential, TEROS 32 field tensiometer, and ATMOS 41 weather station sensors. Download sensor specs (PDF).

Reading the Map

Dry Wet

Bubble color reflects average soil saturation across all depths at that station — the ratio of current soil moisture to the maximum recorded value at each sensor. 100% means the soil is as wet as it has been observed; values above ~65% indicate conditions favorable for landslide initiation. Raw volumetric water content (VWC, m³/m³) is available in the station detail panel.