Brazos River level at Waco
Texas · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 08096500 — Brazos Rv at Waco, TX · NWS forecast point WBAT2
Reading taken · as of 1 hour ago
Low and clear — wadeable, and fish will be spooky
At 187 CFS, this gauge is running 28% of normal for mid-September — below the 659 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 85 years of record (1941–2026).
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Flood stages at Waco
National Weather Service categories for gauge WBAT2, WFO FWD. Impact wording is the NWS's own, verbatim.
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Major flood 27.0 ft
- 27.0 ft Major flooding along the river is expected. Significant residential flooding in the Honey Lane neighborhood and nearby RV park south of Waco continues. Floodwaters will begin to impact an apartment complex west of downtown Waco along MLK Blvd. as well. Several parking lots near McLane Stadium will also flood.
- 29.0 ft Major flooding continues along the river. Significant residential flooding in the Honey Lane neighborhood and nearby RV park south of Waco continues. Significant flooding is also expected at the apartment complex west of downtown Waco on MLK Jr. Blvd., and the neighborhood at Faulkner Lane and MLK Jr. Blvd. begins to flood as well. Multiple parking lots near McLane Stadium have several feet of floodwater covering them.
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Moderate flood 22.0 ft
- 22.0 ft Moderate flooding along the river is expected. Flooding will begin in the Honey Lane neighborhood south of the gage. Trails along the riverwalk in downtown Waco will experience significant flooding.
- 25.0 ft Moderate flooding continues along the river. Significant flooding occurs in the Honey Lane neighborhood and nearby RV park south of Waco, as well as along the riverwalk in downtown Waco.
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Minor flood 19.0 ft
- 19.0 ft Minor flooding along the river is expected. Trails along the riverwalk in downtown Waco will begin to flood.
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Action 10.0 ft
- Right now 1.59 ft
Flow history at Waco
Daily values from USGS 08096500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for WBAT2 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Waco
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 40.90 ft | 246,000 CFS | Sep 27, 1936 |
| 39.70 ft | 211,000 CFS | Dec 3, 1913 |
| 36.70 ft | 144,000 CFS | Apr 22, 1945 |
| 36.70 ft | 142,000 CFS | May 25, 1908 |
| 36.60 ft | 137,000 CFS | May 2, 1944 |
| 36.40 ft | 125,000 CFS | Nov 9, 1918 |
| 35.90 ft | 122,000 CFS | May 10, 1922 |
| 35.70 ft | 126,000 CFS | Apr 25, 1942 |
| 34.90 ft | 112,000 CFS | May 19, 1935 |
| 34.38 ft | 117,000 CFS | Jun 30, 1899 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Brazos River at Waco
In Texas, below Waco Lake. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Waco Lake. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Brazos River at Waco — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Waco Lake affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Brazos River at Waco high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 659 CFS, from 85 years of record (1941–2026). Today is 28% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 08096500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for WBAT2 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.