Gulf Coast Gauges

Colorado River at Wharton water level

USGS gauge 08162000 · Wharton County · Victoria and Matagorda Bay · NWS gauge WHAT2

7.89 ft

gage height, Oct 23, 2026 at 1:15 PM CDT · 50 minutes ago

Below NWS minor flood stage
31.1 ft
NWS action stage
20.0 ft
NWS minor flood stage
39.0 ft
NWS moderate flood stage
41.0 ft
NWS major flood stage
43.0 ft
Highest since 1984 (USGS)
50.47 ft (August 31, 2017)
Usual range
7.75 to 9.25 ft

USGS marks recent readings as provisional: they can be revised after review.

No National Weather Service alert covering Wharton County was active when this page was generated (Oct 23, 2026 at 2:05 PM CDT). Alerts are issued and expire at any time; the current list is at alerts.weather.gov.

Last 7 days

7.7 8.5 9.2 Oct 17 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 20 Oct 21 Oct 22 Oct 23

Hourly averages of USGS readings. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since September 11, 2026.

How to read this gauge

Gage height is the height of the water surface above this gauge's own zero point, which sits at 52.42 ft NGVD29. It is not a water depth and not an elevation: add 52.42 ft to get the water surface elevation.

The flood stages are the National Weather Service's, on the same scale as the gage height; they are the NWS's references for this location, not estimates made here.

Daily highs and lows since September 11, 2026

7.5 8.8 10.1 2026-09-11 – 2026-10-23 · bars are daily low to high

Annual peaks since 1914

In 43 complete water years of comparable USGS records (since 1984), the highest peak was 50.47 ft on August 31, 2017. So far in water year 2027 (since October 1) the highest reading is 10.07 ft on October 2, 2026.

2 15 29 42 56 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 major 43 ft moderate 41 ft minor 39 ft action 20 ft Water year 1914: 51.90 ft on December 13, 1913 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1935: 38.20 ft on June 20, 1935 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1938: 37.40 ft on July 30, 1938 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1939: 11.48 ft on July 18, 1939 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1940: 35.99 ft on July 3, 1940 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1941: 35.30 ft on November 26, 1940 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1942: 22.35 ft on April 9, 1942 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1943: 9.30 ft on October 21, 1942 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1944: 14.96 ft on March 17, 1944 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1945: 19.80 ft on April 2, 1945 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1946: 19.50 ft on March 14, 1946 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1947: 16.98 ft on November 6, 1946 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1948: 8.40 ft on May 27, 1948 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1949: 20.90 ft on April 27, 1949 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1950: 17.55 ft on June 4, 1950 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1951: 11.15 ft on June 6, 1951 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1952: 12.95 ft on May 29, 1952 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1953: 17.90 ft on May 1, 1953 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1954: 11.20 ft on December 5, 1953 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1955: 10.40 ft on May 20, 1955 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1956: 5.70 ft on October 7, 1955 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1957: 28.90 ft on April 30, 1957 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1958: 30.00 ft on October 17, 1957 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1959: 20.60 ft on April 13, 1959 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1960: 27.50 ft on June 27, 1960 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1961: 30.90 ft on September 15, 1961 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1962: 15.70 ft on November 14, 1961 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1963: 8.60 ft on February 21, 1963 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1964: 7.30 ft on September 19, 1964 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1965: 20.80 ft on May 19, 1965 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1966: 12.72 ft on May 3, 1966 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1967: 12.43 ft on September 23, 1967 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1968: 28.06 ft on June 26, 1968 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1969: 17.45 ft on February 22, 1969 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1970: 17.00 ft on May 18, 1970 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1971: 15.72 ft on October 24, 1970 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1972: 16.96 ft on May 13, 1972 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1973: 32.25 ft on June 15, 1973 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1974: 25.90 ft on September 15, 1974 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1975: 28.50 ft on May 27, 1975 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1976: 18.14 ft on April 21, 1976 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1977: 32.35 ft on April 23, 1977 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1978: 17.70 ft on September 14, 1978 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1979: 28.55 ft on June 8, 1979 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1980: 13.05 ft on May 16, 1980 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1981: 28.50 ft on June 17, 1981 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1982: 30.55 ft on November 3, 1981 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1983: 28.85 ft on May 23, 1983 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1984: 16.19 ft on May 20, 1984 Water year 1985: 23.50 ft on February 25, 1985 Water year 1986: 29.94 ft on November 27, 1985 Water year 1987: 41.48 ft on June 17, 1987 Water year 1988: 22.42 ft on March 19, 1988 Water year 1989: 18.44 ft on May 20, 1989 Water year 1990: 15.77 ft on May 6, 1990 Water year 1991: 31.63 ft on January 12, 1991 Water year 1992: 45.31 ft on December 27, 1991 Water year 1993: 33.06 ft on June 21, 1993 Water year 1994: 22.62 ft on May 16, 1994 Water year 1995: 40.69 ft on October 20, 1994 Water year 1996: 20.47 ft on September 23, 1996 Water year 1997: 31.29 ft on March 18, 1997 Water year 1998: 28.85 ft on October 15, 1997 Water year 1999: 48.72 ft on October 23, 1998 Water year 2000: 18.71 ft on June 12, 2000 Water year 2001: 23.06 ft on March 16, 2001 Water year 2002: 31.05 ft on November 19, 2001 Water year 2003: 39.16 ft on November 8, 2002 Water year 2004: 29.26 ft on June 13, 2004 Water year 2005: 48.32 ft on November 26, 2004 Water year 2006: 14.49 ft on May 10, 2006 Water year 2007: 35.01 ft on July 9, 2007 Water year 2008: 26.13 ft on November 19, 2007 Water year 2009: 32.04 ft on April 19, 2009 Water year 2010: 23.35 ft on February 13, 2010 Water year 2011: 12.14 ft on May 16, 2011 Water year 2012: 29.32 ft on March 23, 2012 Water year 2013: 11.47 ft on April 5, 2013 Water year 2014: 33.28 ft on November 4, 2013 Water year 2015: 42.78 ft on May 30, 2015 Water year 2016: 48.30 ft on April 21, 2016 Water year 2017: 50.47 ft on August 31, 2017 Water year 2018: 28.65 ft on March 31, 2018 Water year 2019: 32.92 ft on November 3, 2018 Water year 2020: 16.57 ft on May 19, 2020 Water year 2021: 32.46 ft on June 7, 2021 Water year 2022: 25.27 ft on October 16, 2021 Water year 2023: 29.15 ft on May 15, 2023 Water year 2024: 38.63 ft on January 26, 2024 Water year 2025: 15.62 ft on July 10, 2025 Water year 2026: 21.57 ft on July 24, 2026 Water year 2027 so far: 10.07 ft on October 2, 2026 2017 1999 2005

Each dot is the highest gage height of a water year (October to September), from the USGS annual peak record, with recent years USGS has not published yet taken from its 15-minute readings and this site's own; hover a dot for its date. Dashed lines are NWS flood stages. Grey hollow dots (48 years) were measured on a different datum or at a different site, or before the gauge's datum last changed, so they are shown but not compared.

NWS historic crests

DateCrestAbove minor flood stage
August 31, 201750.47 ft11.5 ft
July 3, 194048.99 ft10.0 ft
October 23, 199848.72 ft9.7 ft
November 26, 200448.32 ft9.3 ft
April 21, 201648.30 ft9.3 ft
November 26, 194048.30 ft9.3 ft
May 31, 201647.00 ft8.0 ft
December 27, 199145.31 ft6.3 ft

The highest crests the National Weather Service lists for this gauge, as published. They can differ from the USGS annual peaks above: USGS records the year's highest gage height, which is not always the crest the NWS lists for the same flood.

In past storms

StormPeakPeak timeRiseCompared with its record
October 1–2, 202610.07 ftOct 2, 2026 at 10:30 AM CDT2.0 fthighest since water year 2026 (21.57 ft on July 24, 2026)

Download the readings

colorado-river-at-wharton.csv (CSV): every reading stored for this gauge since September 11, 2026, 4,036 rows, with time in UTC and Central, gage height in feet, and the USGS approval status.

Source. Gage height from the U.S. Geological Survey; flood stages and historic crests from the NWS National Water Prediction Service. This site is not affiliated with either agency.