Okanogan River at Oroville water level

What this means

The Okanogan River at Oroville is running at a record low at 3.29 ft.

No reading on record has been lower: the old record low was 4.90 ft, from May 29, 1948. That puts it 3.18 ft below the median of 6.47 ft for mid-October, based on 38 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 6.38 ft (−3.09 ft).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that. The sensor also reports a water temperature of 56 °F.

Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date

6.47 ft3.18 ft below the median for this date

Normal for this date

6.22 ft – 6.81 ft8 years in 10 fall in this range (38 years of records)

Same day last year

6.38 ft−3.09 ft

Lowest and highest in 30 days

3.28 ft – 6.29 ft

Lowest and highest in 12 months

3.28 ft – 7.46 ft

Highest on record

16.89 ftJune 2, 1972

Lowest on record

4.90 ftMay 29, 1948

Lowest on record

1.61 ft below the lowest level on record