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Danube River Water Levels Outlook, Week of August 18, 2025

Hungarian Parliament Building seen across the deep aqua Danube River, framed by overhanging willow branches, vintage nautical chart texture subtly overlaid.
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Cruising along the Upper and Middle Danube between Regensburg, Vienna, and Budapest looks normal this week on a managed corridor with well-monitored fairways. 5 The gauges most watched for low-water constraints on popular cruise itineraries are Pfelling in Germany and Kienstock in Austria. 61 Seven-day rainfall guidance for Passau, Vienna, and Budapest is modest, generally on the order of 0.10 to 0.40 in (3 to 10 mm), which supports steady conditions. 234

Travelers should monitor pre-departure emails, verify any late docking notes with their advisor, and consider flexible insurance options if they want maximum room to adjust.

Current Conditions

Primary gauge: Kienstock, Wachau [Donau Kienstock]. 1 Data unavailable. Risk level Normal based on routine summer management of the reach and standard fairway monitoring by the waterway authority. 5

Seven-Day Outlook

Chart unavailable. Data summary: City-level forecasts show light, hit-or-miss showers, with seven-day totals near 0.20 in (5 mm) at Passau, about 0.30 in (8 mm) at Vienna, and near 0.20 in (5 mm) at Budapest. 234 With limited basin rainfall and lock-regulated sections upstream and downstream of key pinch points, the call is Normal for the next 7 days. 5

Three-Week Risk Forecast

PeriodLikelihood of DisruptionConfidence
Days 1 to 7NormalHigh
Days 8 to 14NormalMedium
Days 15 to 21NormalLow

A typical late-summer pattern favors brief showers rather than multi-day basin rain. Given current guidance at Passau, Vienna, and Budapest, and the corridor's managed fairways, we keep a Normal risk posture through three weeks, with lower confidence late in the period. 2345 If considering Cancel For Any Reason, review purchase windows and coverage limits now.

Cruise-Line Responses

Data unavailable.

Traveler Advice

Booked guests in the next two weeks can plan on normal operations. Still, check your line's app or emails 48 to 72 hours before embarkation for any timing tweaks at locks or city piers between Regensburg, Melk, Vienna, and Budapest.

If you are shopping near-term dates, this is a favorable window. Choose fares, or insurance, that allow minor timing adjustments without heavy penalties, and confirm your line's contingency for brief low-water slowdowns at known pinch points.

For trips more than three weeks out, keep monitoring but avoid changes based on today's outlook. The Danube's monitored fairways and regulated pools in several reaches usually provide ample margin in late summer. 5

Methodology

We use Austria's eHYD station pages for Kienstock, Bavaria's HND for Pfelling, Hungary's Hydroinfo for Budapest, public city-level precipitation pages, and internal thresholds, converting meters to feet at 1 ft = 0.3048 m. 1682347

Disclaimer

Forecasts beyond ten days are probabilistic and may change without notice. This information does not constitute financial or insurance advice.

Sources

  1. Austria eHYD, Donau at Kienstock, station page
  2. Timeanddate, Passau 14-day forecast with daily precipitation
  3. Timeanddate, Vienna 14-day forecast with daily precipitation
  4. Timeanddate, Budapest 14-day forecast with daily precipitation
  5. viadonau, DoRIS fairway and waterway information for the Danube
  6. HND Bayern, Pfelling gauge master page, Donau, Regensburg reach
  7. NIST Handbook 44 Appendix C, exact foot-meter conversion, 1 ft = 0.3048 m
  8. Hungary Hydroinfo, Budapest Danube gauge overview