U.S. River Conditions, Water Year 2025

This is an animation showing the changing conditions relative to the historic record of USGS streamgages from October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding.   

In early October, Hurricane Helene brought high water to parts of the Southeast, while drought persisted across much of the U.S. and continued through December. Mid-October saw prolonged flooding from Hurricane Milton, followed later in the month by Pacific cyclones bringing high water to the Northwest. Through November, low flows developed across the Northeast, while drought conditions gradually improved in parts of the South-Central U.S. December closed with another round of cyclone activity in the Pacific Northwest and continued low flows across northern regions. 

January began with low flows in both the Northeast and Pacific Northwest, but by February, atmospheric rivers brought high water to California and flooding impacted the East. At the same time, drought expanded across the Southwest, lasting through March. Successive atmospheric river events continued affecting the Northwest into late March, while drought persisted in the desert Southwest. 

Early April brought widespread flooding from the Ohio Valley to the Lower Mississippi Valley, while drought continued in the Florida peninsula. By late April and into June, flooding spread through the South-Central U.S. May also brought high water to parts of the East, and by July, flooding impacted the upper Midwest. Throughout summer, drought affected parts of the West and Hawaii, lasting into September. 

In early July, central Texas experienced severe flooding, followed shortly after by Tropical Storm Chantal bringing heavy rain to the Mid-Atlantic. As summer progressed, low flows developed in New England, while high flows persisted in the upper Midwest. August brought flooding to parts of the Southeast, followed in September by expanding drought in the Ohio Valley and lingering dry conditions as the water year came to a close.  

Note that both USGS gage height and National Weather Service flood stage are necessary to determine flooding conditions. The combination was available for 80% of streamgages at the time this graphic was produced. Only publicly available data from Water Data for the Nation were used (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/).