river flow · Germany
Rhine at Kaub
August mean discharge
Modelled demonstration series · not observed data
Kaub is the shallowest point on the navigable Rhine, which makes it the gauge the whole German economy watches. Below a certain level barges cannot load fully, and coal, chemicals and fuel move by rail and road at several times the cost. This is a hydrology chart with a directly measurable effect on industrial output.
75 years, modelled
Same reading, two normals
| Normal | Mean | σ | Pct | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1980 | 1180 m³/s | −2.10σ | 2nd | 1 in 56 years |
| 1991–2020 | 850 m³/s | −1.43σ | 8th | 1 in 13 years |
Today would be the lowest value in the entire 75-year modelled series. Past the series' standing low of 530 m³/s (1961). Nothing about the reading changes between rows — only the yardstick.
The season here
Late-summer Rhine flow is Alpine meltwater plus whatever summer rain the basin got. A hot dry summer removes both inputs at once.
Where this series comes from
MODELLED SERIES — not observed. Parameters set from published Kaub gauge August discharge climatology; lognormal transform applied because discharge is right-skewed. The 75 annual values are synthesised by the seeded generator. Population is a rounded Rhine-corridor estimate.
Every number on this page comes from a modelled series: 75 annual values synthesised by a seeded generator from published climatological parameters for Rhine at Kaub. It shows how anomaly reasoning works. It is not a measurement and must not be cited as one.
How to read σ
σ counts standard deviations from this place's own normal. The sigma guide · return periods.
More river flow stations
Open Rhine at Kaub on the field →