Deschutes River near Madras, OR
Central Oregon · USGS gauge 14092500 · Updated Oct 24, 3:19 AM PDT · USGS data, provisional
Reading time: Oct 24, 2:30 AM PDT · Provisional data
Flow is in a typical range for the date. Rivers are generally easiest to fish and float when they are near their normal flow, but this status says nothing about water clarity, hatches, hazards such as wood in the river, or dam releases.
- Vs. normal for this date
- 32nd percentile
- Typical range (25th–75th)
- 3,830–4,570 cfs
- Median for this date
- 4,160 cfs
- 7-day low / high
- 3,590 / 4,060 cfs
Plain-language explanation
Deschutes River near Madras is flowing at 3,930 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of Oct 24, 2:30 AM PDT. That is in the normal range for this time of year: lower than about 68% of the daily flows this gauge has recorded for this date (give or take 7 days) over 103 years of record (1923–2026).
The middle half of those historical flows runs from 3,830 to 4,570 cfs, with a median of 4,160 cfs; the lowest 10% of days are at or below 3,380 cfs and the highest 10% at or above 4,985 cfs.
Over the last 24 hours the flow has been steady (+0.0%). In the last 7 days it ranged from 3,590 to 4,060 cfs.
Regulated flow: upstream dams or diversions influence this gauge, so the “normal range” above reflects managed flows and can differ from natural river behavior.
Why this status: Flow is within the range this gauge normally sees at this time of year (or the deviation is too small in absolute terms to matter).
7-day trend
Hourly flow in cfs, Pacific time. The shaded band is the typical range (25th–75th percentile) for this date, shown when it falls within the chart.
| Day (Pacific) | Mean cfs | Percentile | Status that day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Oct 18 | 3,941 | 39th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Mon Oct 19 | 3,939 | 36th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Tue Oct 20 | 4,041 | 45th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Wed Oct 21 | 4,039 | 43rd | Fishable/Floatable |
| Thu Oct 22 | 3,947 | 34th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Fri Oct 23 | 3,916 | 31st | Fishable/Floatable |
| Sat Oct 24 (so far) | 3,916 | 30th | Fishable/Floatable |
Seasonal context
Shaded band: 10th–90th percentile of daily flows through the year; dashed line: median. Log scale. Dot: today's flow. Based on 103 years of USGS daily data (1923–2026).
About this gauge
- USGS site
- USGS-14092500
- USGS name
- Deschutes River Near Madras, Or
- Drainage area
- 7,820 sq mi
- Location
- 44.7260, -121.2470
- Record in this analysis
- 1923–2026
Typical uses
Notes: Flows are influenced by upstream reservoirs and irrigation diversions, so 'normal' here is a managed normal. (Hand-written general note, not from USGS data.)
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