Morning readings · Wednesday, November 11, 2026
The water report for your river cruise.
River Water Watch predicts water levels on Europe's main cruise rivers, the Rhine, Danube, Elbe, and Seine. We combine official gauge readings, thirty years of records, and a daily forecast into one simple verdict: how likely each month is to sail exactly as planned. Most months, on most rivers, the answer is very. Use it to book the good water with confidence, or to keep a friendly eye on a sailing you already have.
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The morning briefing
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 · All notes
Danube comes up six centimeters at Pfelling
The Danube came up at Pfelling, 260 centimeters against 254 yesterday, after 7 millimeters of rain over the Inn valley. The chance of a Danube cruise going as planned this week is 56 percent, up from 48 yesterday. Rhine water levels at Kaub rose three centimeters too, though the Middle Rhine is still at low water and this week sits at 18 percent as planned. At that level a ship loads lighter, or the line moves passengers to a sister ship past the shallow stretch with a coach in between.
Gauges below their mark
7 of 7
low-water rivers
Kaub, the Rhine gorge
17 cm
p0.4 of 30 years
Danube catchment rain
-36%
vs normal, 45 days
Today at the gauges
| Gauge | River | Reading | Since yesterday | Past week | vs 30 years | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAUB | Rhine | 17 cm | ▲ 3 cm | p0.4 | low | |
| MAXAU | Rhine | 366 cm | ▲ 10 cm | p1.5 | low | |
| PFELLING | Danube | 260 cm | ▲ 6 cm | p0 | low | |
| KIENSTOCK | Danube | 143 cm | ▲ 3 cm | p0.3 | low | |
| DRESDEN | Elbe | 57 cm | ▼ 3 cm | p3.3 | low | |
| Paris-Austerlitz | Seine | 92 cm | ▼ 1 cm | p0.5 | normal |
Official readings from PEGELONLINE (WSV) and Vigicrues. Change is measured against yesterday's last reading; the small line is the past week. Percentiles compare today with thirty years of records: p10 means lower than 90 of every 100 recorded days.
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Rhine
KAUB 17 cm · low
Middle Rhine at Kaub is running unusually low today — lower than most days in 30 years of records — and itineraries on this stretch are flexing. Rain over the Alpine headwaters (Chur, Basel) is 14% below normal for the past 45 days; the 16-day forecast runs 44% above.
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr*
May*
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Danube
PFELLING 260 cm · low
Danube, Straubing to Vilshofen is running unusually low today — lower than most days in 30 years of records — and itineraries on this stretch are flexing. Rain over the Inn valley + Bavarian Danube is 36% below normal for the past 45 days; the 16-day forecast runs 17% below.
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr*
May*
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Elbe
DRESDEN 57 cm · low
Elbe at Dresden is running unusually low today — lower than most days in 30 years of records — and itineraries on this stretch are flexing. Rain over the Bohemian basin + Giant Mountains is 41% below normal for the past 45 days; the 16-day forecast runs 5% below.
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr*
May*
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit low water · solid = a week or more
Seine
Seine at Vernon p0.6 · normal
Locked and rain-fed: the Seine's risk is high water under the bridges, not a dry riverbed. Rain over the upper Seine basin (Troyes, Châtillonnais) is 11% below normal for the past 45 days; the 16-day forecast runs 90% above.
Nov*
Dec*
Jan*
Feb*
Mar*
Apr*
May*
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Last five years, month by month
The five years before each month, most recent on top · marks are months that hit high water · solid = a week or more
How to read the figures
Most river cruises, most of the year, run exactly as planned. Each column is a month, and the blue is the chance that month goes as planned, so a full column is a comfortable booking. Water under the dashed line means the itinerary may flex; the hatching shows by how much.
Months marked * use the live forecast, which runs about seven months out. Beyond that, the level is the thirty-year record for that month. Every figure is updated each morning.
We watch the exact stretches where cruises fail: the Rhine gorge at Kaub, the free-flowing Danube reaches, the Elbe at Dresden. Not city averages. How it works.