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Danube water levels 2019 and similar topics - plus tips and info


notamermaid
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An area of low pressure formed over the Czech Republic and has brought much rain westwards into Bavaria, sweeping further into Germany along the Alps. The Allgäu region is on high alert. Those rivers there are the tributaries to the Danube. Several gauging stations reported flood warning levels of 3 and 4 during the night, 4 being the highest possible.

 

But other regions of Germany have been hit by bad weather as well, this morning the state of Hesse looks the worst on the river levels map.

 

More rain is coming and the water from the tributaries will reach the Danube during the course of today and tomorrow.

 

So, over to our man in Passau, G.M.T. ....

 

notamermaid

 

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17 minutes ago, thunter1224 said:

Wow..   Goodluck to all the cruisers on the river at this time...

Yes, they really need much luck. I have just had a look at the gauge for Passau and the graph says the Danube has risen by 150cm in just under 24 hours. That is a lot! More rain must have come down in the direct Danube area around Passau than I had reckoned.

 

Hoping to hear from G.M.T. how the ships are getting on at the infamous bridge in Passau.

 

notamermaid

 

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Here in Munich the Isar river is pretty high but we´re still on level 2. Passau is fine so far. Close to level 1 but they might not reach it. We have to wait until the water from the Isar river and others is reaching the Danube river.

 

steamboats

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The Danube is currently at 692 cm, just below level one, will be an interesting 24 /  48 hours.

 

The problem in Passau is the suspension bridge, as soon as the level reaches 630 cm (normally about 480 cm) then boats with high superstructure cannot pass under it.

 

I was in Passau today, boat after boat (Vikings 3 x 2 boats rafted, I bet the Vikings didn't have this trouble when doing a bit of pillaging in London in the 9th. century - progress).

 

 

Although it was raining heavily, it was overrun with visitors, we tend to avoid the town in spring / summer, luckily these days we can get verything online. I must have some Venetian or Dubovnik blood running through my Donau veins.

 

It was pouring the whole time there, but I didn't get wet as you just hop from one red Viking umbrella to the next.

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In Passau, the Danube is just below second level for warning of flooding., this stands at 740 cm (Danube is currently 735 cm - has risen 41 cm is the last 3 hours).

 

Weather is due to improve tomorrow and the Danube level should remain constant at 720 cm, on Friday the level should start to fall.

 

Two critical levels for cruise ships are:

 

630 cm  Some cruise ships will have difficulties passing suspension bridge

780 cm All shipping movements suspended.

 

Here is the complete list (in German )

 

https://www.hnd.bayern.de/pegel/donau_bis_passau/passau-10091008/marken?

 

We still need more rain for replacement of ground water that was deminished in last year drought.

 

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We are doing a Viking ship swap around Passau tomorrow. Our bus trip into the city today clearly showed a rising river that flooded some areas later in the day. Sandbags, water locks and barricades are in place.

There is no doubt that the ships will not make it under that bridge!

Hopefully the rain will stop and the river will be navigable very soon. 

In the mean time, I have great confidence that the swap will run as smoothly as the very competent Viking officers communicated to us.

The river/weather is unpredictable and this is part of cruising. Tomorrow will be an adventure and hopefully we will have a nice day for our cruise down the Wachau Valley in the afternoon aboard our new ship.

Fingers crossed for no more hitches.

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Witt's end, it has stopped rain around Passau, Danube is currently at 747 cm (just over level 2). Should rise much more, if any.

 

At least you can drown your sorrows in the Wachau.

 

Have a great cruise.

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Thank you G.M.T. for all the info.

 

It looks as if the Danube at Passau peaked this morning at 757cm. A river closure narrowly avoided it seems. Much water is still coming from the river upstream from Straubing but the forecast looks promising for slightly falling levels nevertheless.

 

The Wachau valley is beautiful and Melk Abbey sells some great liqueur. A glass of regional wine should ease the pain of ship swaps, good idea.

 

I wonder if the voices for altering the suspension bridge will get louder?

 

notamermaid

 

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Our 5/24 AmaSonata Cruise was supposed to board in Vilshofen.  The  Amasonata docked at Engelhartshel, right below Passau, instead and we boarded there. We have now since sailed to Linz.  Before we left AmaStella also docked and is still in Engelhartshel.  The cruise director said AMA decided not to try to move their ships up to Passau. Apparently there were a bunch of ships still trapped in Passau yesterday.   According to the CD, the Captain said there maybe another “wave” of high water this week (rain projected to come on Tuesday).  But should not impact our progress to Budapest.

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Hello Happy Touring,

 

Thank you for reporting from your cruise. Rain is coming indeed. A band of rain has swept into Bavaria from the Southeast and will intensify tomorrow with heavy rain over the Bavarian Alps, Munich, Salzburg, Passau, the Bavarian Forest area, towards Prague and further Northeast. Those are the areas that will see most of the rain, but there will be rain over most of Austria and Germany. The rest of the week does not look too bad, with 1 June bringing drier and hot weather (above 25 degrees in West Germany and France next week).

 

Passau gauge is still around the crucial 630cm, meaning there are problems with the suspension bridge for some ships. The level is forecast to fall slightly, but after tomorrow's rain I can see that going up above 630 again.

Have a great time along the Danube despite the rain. I am sure you will love sailing into Budapest.

 

notamermaid

 

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As four Southern Bavaria the rain set in about an hour ago... The forcast expects up to 100 l/sqm in 24h but so far it´s not that bad. But who knows. The bad weather is supposed to last til at least Wednesday or longer.

 

BTW currently it´s all green - so no flood stages right now. The Danube river at Passau is down to almost 6 m but this can change quickly.

 

steamboats

Edited by steamboats
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30 minutes ago, steamboats said:

BTW currently it´s all green - so no flood stages right now. The Danube river at Passau is down to almost 6 m but this can change quickly.

 

steamboats

Boy, down 6 m(eters), must have dried out by now.🍹

 

 

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Oh well, you two over there on the Danube, close to 6 and a half now... Passau gauge is showing 647cm and rising. Will just have to wait and see how much. Currently downpours on the Rhine here with thunderstorms in parts, also hail, slightly more extreme than with you, I think. Overall Bavaria is forecast to get more rain than the Rhine valley, though, today.

 

On the plus side, it will help to get us through dry and hot days next week.

 

notamermaid

 

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We just finished our Avalon cruise yesterday from Prague to Budapest. At the final meeting/captain’s toast yesterday  the cruise director stated that Vienna was dealing with severe high water and traffic will be impacted greatly. We felt very fortunate to have the entire cruise go off as planned and the weather was mostly great too. What a beautiful part of our world. Best wishes to all those cruising this season. We hope your trips go as planned. And special thanks to G.M.T. And Notamermaid for all the great information they post here.

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681 cm currently in Passau and the first level (7 m) is not in the forecast.

 

But the very South is still under a red weather alert with up to 100 l/sqm rain.

 

The good news... it´s currently dry in Munich!

 

steamboats

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2 hours ago, Caligirl58 said:

We are scheduled to cruise Budapest to Passau on Uniworld at the end of June.  What is the best way to stay informed about weather/river levels over the next few weeks?  Websites to follow?  Thank you.

Follow this thread. This is the best info you will get.

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17 hours ago, hbr777 said:

Follow this thread. This is the best info you will get.

Much praise, hbr777. We are trying our best here on this board, so nice that so many people are happy with the combined efforts of locals and current cruisers.

 

On 5/28/2019 at 8:24 PM, BarkLessWagMore said:

We just finished our Avalon cruise yesterday from Prague to Budapest. At the final meeting/captain’s toast yesterday  the cruise director stated that Vienna was dealing with severe high water and traffic will be impacted greatly. We felt very fortunate to have the entire cruise go off as planned and the weather was mostly great too. What a beautiful part of our world. Best wishes to all those cruising this season. We hope your trips go as planned. And special thanks to G.M.T. And Notamermaid for all the great information they post here.

Thank you for reporting from your trip and your kind words. Good to hear you had a great time.

 

The next wave of high water has reached Austria, fortunately the level at Passau has already peaked at 730cm this morning and is going down steadily (albeit still on flood level 1). A warm weekend without rain will further help so that traffic can hopefully run more smoothly next week.

 

To Caligirl58, if you would like to follow along the info in this thread with some figures and graphs, here is the info on Passau: https://www.hnd.bayern.de/pegel/donau_bis_passau/passau-10091008

For Hungary, please look at this website: http://www.hydroinfo.hu/en/index.html

with the graph for Budapest: http://www.hydroinfo.hu/en/hidelo/elore.php?all=442027_en#

 

notamermaid

 

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Happy to report that Passau gauge has fallen to 607cm. With little rain forecast for the next four days, this looks good. It is going to be hot along the Upper Danube (already is very pleasant today of course) so great days for river cruising. :classic_smile: Still over twenty degrees Celsius here with me, and I suspect both our Bavarians are out barbecuing in their own garden, or emptying glasses in a beer garden.

 

Zum Wohl! 🍻

 

notamermaid

 

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9 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 I suspect both our Bavarians are out barbecuing in their own garden, or emptying glasses in a beer garden.

 

Yep, we turned on the grill for dinner...

 

And we do expect a hot (and dry) Sunday today. Some thundersturms might come up tomorrow and Tuesday. But nothing to worry about.

 

steamboats

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3 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Yep, we turned on the grill for dinner...

 

And we do expect a hot (and dry) Sunday today. Some thundersturms might come up tomorrow and Tuesday. But nothing to worry about.

 

steamboats

Did I miss something?

 

Those damned village beer festivals makes you forget everthing, and the season has only started.

 

Next appointment is a Lidl craft beer tasting session.

 

Paradise on earth, living (and beer tasting) in Bavaria.🍻🍻🥨😎

 

 

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