Water
Data through Oct 26, 2026 · updatedDrought and flood in one picture: today’s flow at about a hundred key river gauges, two of the largest in each state, against what is normal for the date over each gauge’s own record, from the U.S. Geological Survey.
DryRivers are running low: 39.0% of key gauges are below normal, against about 25% on a typical day.
Watch: Whether the share below normal passes 40%, the mark of a widespread dry spell.
What changed across the country
- Below normal, vs a week ago▲+13 pts to 39%
- Above normal, vs a week ago▼−15 pts to 8%
- Below normal, vs a month ago▲0 pts to 39%
- +1 more for members
Every headline number4 readings with their changes
About the dataUSGS water data · public domain · daily
Each gauge’s latest daily mean flow is compared with its percentiles for that calendar day over its whole record (at least 20 years). Below the 25th percentile is below normal and below the 10th much below; above the 75th is above normal and above the 90th much above, where the USGS publishes a 90th percentile. The gauges are the two largest active river gauges in each state, so big rivers dominate; small streams can be drier or wetter than the map shows. Readings are provisional and may be revised.
Source: Daily streamflow and daily flow statistics (NWIS water services), U.S. Geological Survey. Map: U.S. Census Bureau boundaries via us-atlas.
How the takeaway is decided
- About 25% of gauges sit below normal on a typical day. 30% or more below normal is Dry, 40% or more Very dry; the same marks above normal are Wet and Very wet.
- Drying or Wetting: the share below normal moved more than 5 points in 30 days.
The words and colours come from these rules, applied to the newest data on every update; they describe the data and are not advice.