Elbe water levels in January

The current figure for January 2027 on the Elbe is 76%: the chance a sailing goes ahead as planned, without low water interfering. In short, moderate. It comes from the live forecast, which updates each morning.

Affected rarely means canceled. The Elbe is free-flowing almost end to end, which makes it the most weather-led of the four rivers: picking the right month matters more here, and this page exists to make that easy.

The Elbe has no Alpine snow bank; January levels ride on Bohemian winter rain and lowland snow. On a free-flowing channel, what falls is what flows.

Across thirty years of records, January ran as planned on the Elbe in about 43% of years, 9th calmest of the twelve months. The calmest months here are September and June; October and November lean hardest on the rain.

The last five Januarys, from the official record: 2026 22 low water days · 2025 clear · 2024 clear · 2023 clear · 2022 clear. Year to year it swings: 2026 met low water in January, and 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 stayed clear.

To turn this into a date-specific answer, use the cruise checker. The wider picture is on the Elbe page and in when to go.