Okanagan River at Penticton water level

Name: Okanagan River at Penticton water level (Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada)
Creator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
License: https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

River gauge, Okanagan River, British Columbia, Canada

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

1.63m Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 10:45 AM MDT (40 min ago)

Flow: 5.81 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days 1 year Years compared

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

Low water at Okanagan River at Penticton: the gauge reads 1.63 m, below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.08 m below the median of 1.71 m for mid-October, based on 16 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 1.79 m (−0.16 m).

It is still going down, by 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 1.63 m – 1.69 m.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that.

Compared with 16 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 1.71 m0.08 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 1.56 m – 1.81 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (16 years of records)
Same day last year: 1.79 m−0.16 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 1.63 m – 1.69 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 1.48 m – 1.79 m

Freshet, ice and paddling

Open-water season is the time for canoe trips and fishing, though rapids change character with every few centimetres of water.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the Okanagan River

The Okanogan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called the Okanagan Country east of the Cascade Range and north and west of the Columbia, and also the Okanagan region of British Columbia. The Canadian portion of the river has been channelized since the mid-1950s.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

19 Mon 16° 5° – Wind 4 km/h

20 Tue 19° 9° – Wind 13 km/h

21 Wed 20° 6° – Wind 8 km/h

22 Thu 20° 7° – Wind 5 km/h

23 Fri 14° 4° – Wind 17 km/h

24 Sat 12° 1° – Wind 6 km/h

25 Sun 14° 5° – Wind 13 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:27 AM Sunset 07:02 PM Daylight 10 hr, 35 min First quarter 61%

Map

Other gauges on the Okanagan River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Okanagan River at Okanagan FallsRiver gauge, Okanagan River	1.39 m	Very low	±0	18 km
Okanagan River below McIntyre DamRiver gauge, Okanagan River	1.19 m	Very low	±0	28 km
Okanagan River near OliverRiver gauge, Okanagan River	0.64 m	Low	±0	43 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Trout Creek at the MouthRiver gauge, Trout Creek	3.14 m	Normal	+0.01 m	7.8 km
Skaha Lake at Okanagan FallsLake, Skaha Lake	2.43 m	Normal	±0	8.5 km
Shatford Creek near PentictonRiver gauge, Shatford Creek	1.06 m	Very low	±0	13 km
Dennis Creek near 1780 Metre ContourRiver gauge, Dennis Creek	0.00 m³/s	Very low	±0	22 km
Vaseux Lake near the OutletLake, Vaseux Lake	7.88 m	Very high	±0	26 km
Keremeos Creek below Willis IntakeRiver gauge, Keremeos Creek	0.58 m	Very low	±0	31 km
Vaseux Creek above Solco CreekRiver gauge, Vaseux Creek	0.93 m	Very low	±0	35 km
Hedley Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Hedley Creek	2.14 m	Normal	±0	37 km

Questions and answers

How does the Okanagan River at Penticton compare with last year?

It is 0.16 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 1.79 m.

What is a normal level for the Okanagan River at Penticton in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.71 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 1.56 m and 1.81 m, based on 16 years of records.

Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?

No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 1.63 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Okanagan River at Penticton today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 10:45 AM MDT, the water level was 1.63 m. Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Okanagan River at Penticton rising or falling?

Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.02 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Okanagan River at Penticton normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 16 years of daily readings for this time of year.

How often is this data updated?

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada publishes a new reading every hour. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
Station code: eccc:08NM050 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 49.49852, -119.61536 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: station datum (assumed datum)
Update interval: every hour
Licence: Open Government Licence – Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	1.63 m	2026-10-19 16:45	Provisional
Flow	5.81 m³/s	2026-10-19 16:45	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: Okanagan River at Penticton (eccc:08NM050). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/british-columbia/okanagan-river-at-penticton

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer