Elbe water levels in November

The current figure for November 2026 on the Elbe is 43%: the chance a sailing goes ahead as planned, without low water interfering. In short, high risk. 13 days of this November are already on record. The figure counts what the river actually did on those days and the live forecast for the days left.

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.

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 ran as planned on the Elbe in about 43% of years, 11th calmest of the twelve months. The calmest months here are April and May; October and November lean hardest on the rain.

The last five Novembers, from the official record: 2025 4 low water days · 2024 17 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.

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.