Uncompahgre River below Ridgway Reservoir, CO
River level and flood forecast · Ouray County
Normal1.9 ftas of Mon 2:15 PM
The river is 4.6 ft below flood stage (6.5 ft).
Forecast to hold near 1.9 ft through Mon, Oct 19, 6 AM.
Flow: 69 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 11:22 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 11 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 9 ft |
| Flood stage | 6.5 ft |
| Action stage | 5 ft |
| Record crest (June 9, 2010) | 3.87 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 13 ftWater rises to the base of the railroad bridge near Eldredge. Walk-in campsites at Pa-co-chu-puk begin to flood.
- 11 ftWidespread flooding of lowlands and agricultural land is occuring. Water rises to near the base of the US 550 bridge near eldredge.
- 9.3 ftWater floods the river gage site.
- 9 ftFlood waters continue to spread into low-lying areas and agricultural land along the Uncompahgre River. Water enters Pa-co-chu-puk group picnic area and parking lot.
- 7.5 ftPa-co-chu-puk group picnic pavilion begins to flood.
- 7 ftFlood waters are spreading into low areas and agricultural adjancent to the Uncompahgre river.
- 6 ftWater covers sections of the river-side trails in ridgway state park and floods low-lying marshy areas along the banks of the Uncompahgre River.
- 5 ftThe Uncompahgre River reaches the top of its banks. Some minor flooding of low marshy areas is occurring.
Highest crests on record
- 3.87 ft — June 9, 2010
- 3.58 ft — May 19, 2009
- 3.49 ft — June 18, 2015
- 3.46 ft — July 2, 2019
- 3.43 ft — July 7, 2011
Recent crests: 2.73 ft (May 4, 2025) · 3.4 ft (June 22, 2024) · 2.98 ft (July 24, 2023) · 3.3 ft (April 26, 2022) · 2.83 ft (August 4, 2021)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (UNRC2); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.