Elbe water levels in November

The current figure for November 2026 on the Elbe is 38%: the chance a sailing runs into low water at the shallowest stretch. In short, elevated. It comes from the live forecast, which updates each morning.

November rain usually refloats the Elbe, and levels tend to improve week by week. A late autumn can leave the first half of the month tight.

Across thirty years of records, November brought low water to the Elbe in about 57% of years, 9th calmest of the twelve months. The calmest months here are June and April; the most exposed are August and October.

The last five Novembers, from the official record: 2025 4 low water days · 2024 18 low water days · 2023 clear · 2022 clear · 2021 11 low water days. Year to year it swings: 2025, 2024 and 2021 met low water in November, and 2023 and 2022 stayed clear.

Affected rarely means canceled, but the Elbe is Europe's most exposed cruise river, free-flowing almost end to end. Low water tends to touch more of the itinerary than on the Rhine or Danube.

For your own dates, the cruise checker scores the exact window day by day. The Elbe page carries the live gauges, and when to go compares all four rivers.