2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY... Strong northwest winds will spread across the northeast plains after sunrise today, with gusts 45 to 65 mph creating critical fire weather conditions despite somewhat marginal humidity values near 20%. Early Friday, westerly downslope winds will bring strong gusts to the Front Range mountains and foothills, with potential for these to spread into wind-favored portions of the adjacent lower elevations. Peak gusts of 70-90 mph are increasing in likelihood for the windiest locations (considerably lower for areas along and east of I-25). With a warmer and drier air mass in place, humidity values in the teens look to extend into much of the foothills, and certainly across the lower elevations. Such conditions may be a longer duration than usual, with potential for low humidity to extend into the evening hours prior to the arrival of a front. The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Fire Weather Watch for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from Friday morning through Friday evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 215, 216, 241, 243, 245, 246 and 247. * TIMING...From Friday morning through late Friday evening. * WINDS...West 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 80 mph in and near the foothills. West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph for areas roughly along and east of I-25. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10 to 15%. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Arkansas River
was last observed at
23,634
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
46,877
acre-ft of water today; about 67%
of normal.
River levels are low and may signify a drought.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
35,532 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2019-05-28 when daily discharge volume was observed at
1,992,683 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Arkansas River At Tulsa
reporting a streamflow rate of 10,300 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
Arkansas River Near Muskogee
with a gauge stage of 18.49 ft.
This river is monitored from 39 different streamgauging stations along the Arkansas River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 9,720 ft, the
Arkansas River Near Leadville.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-18 |
| Discharge Volume | 46,877 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
23,634.0 cfs
+2057.0 cfs (+9.53%) |
| Percent of Normal | 66.51% |
| Maximum |
1,992,683.0 cfs
2019-05-28 |
| Seasonal Avg | 35,532 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arkansas River Near Leadville
USGS 07081200 |
40 cfs | 4.58 ft | 98.02 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Below Empire Gulch Near Malta
USGS 07083710 |
94 cfs | 2.94 ft | 12.28 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Granite
USGS 07086000 |
82 cfs | 1.09 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Below Granite
USGS 07087050 |
157 cfs | 11.03 ft | -1.88 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Nathrop
USGS 07091200 |
258 cfs | 3.59 ft | 5.31 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Salida
USGS 07091500 |
245 cfs | 2.80 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Wellsville
USGS 07093700 |
322 cfs | 3.24 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Parkdale
USGS 07094500 |
306 cfs | 2.42 ft | -1.29 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Canon City
USGS 07096000 |
394 cfs | 5.68 ft | 7.63 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Portland
USGS 07097000 |
318 cfs | 1.42 ft | 10.5 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Above Pueblo
USGS 07099400 |
81 cfs | 1.93 ft | 15 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Moffat Street At Pueblo
USGS 07099970 |
107 cfs | 8 ft | -0.93 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Tributary Above Hwy 227 At Pueblo
USGS 07099973 |
21 cfs | 2.31 ft | -2.31 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Avondale
USGS 07109500 |
386 cfs | 2.98 ft | -1.03 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Nepesta
USGS 07117000 |
309 cfs | 12.88 ft | -3.69 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Catlin Dam
USGS 07119700 |
-999 cfs | 6.09 ft | -15.86 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At La Junta
USGS 07123000 |
68 cfs | 7.55 ft | -9.27 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Las Animas
USGS 07124000 |
104 cfs | 8.02 ft | -1.89 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Below John Martin Reservoir
USGS 07130500 |
1 cfs | 0.7 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Lamar
USGS 07133000 |
19 cfs | 5.53 ft | -3.08 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Granada
USGS 07134180 |
62 cfs | 5.55 ft | -6.39 | |||||
|
Arkansas R Nr Coolidge
USGS 07137500 |
77 cfs | 2.24 ft | -1.28 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Syracuse
USGS 07138000 |
70 cfs | 4.11 ft | 2.8 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Kendall
USGS 07138020 |
58 cfs | 5.75 ft | -2.83 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Deerfield
USGS 07138070 |
0 cfs | 6.04 ft | None | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Garden City
USGS 07139000 |
0 cfs | 5.14 ft | None | |||||
|
Arkansas R Nr Larned
USGS 07141220 |
13 cfs | 3.99 ft | 39.73 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Great Bend
USGS 07141300 |
10 cfs | 0.8 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Arkansas R Nr Nickerson
USGS 07142680 |
114 cfs | 9.77 ft | -0.87 | |||||
|
Arkansas R Nr Hutchinson
USGS 07143330 |
169 cfs | 2.66 ft | 2.42 | |||||
|
Arkansas R Nr Maize
USGS 07143375 |
212 cfs | 5.11 ft | 2.91 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Wichita
USGS 07144300 |
303 cfs | 3.21 ft | -3.81 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Derby
USGS 07144550 |
411 cfs | 1.28 ft | -2.38 | |||||
|
Arkansas R At Arkansas City
USGS 07146500 |
782 cfs | 3.89 ft | -5.56 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Ralston
USGS 07152500 |
4130 cfs | 5.74 ft | 1.47 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Tulsa
USGS 07164500 |
10300 cfs | 4.18 ft | 1.98 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Haskell
USGS 07165570 |
5480 cfs | 4.86 ft | -1.97 | |||||
|
Arkansas River Near Muskogee
USGS 07194500 |
4970 cfs | 18.49 ft | -25.6 | |||||
|
Arkansas River At Ft. Smith
USGS 07249455 |
6570 cfs | 11.28 ft | 619.61 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley, where the headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges. It then flows east into the Midwest via Kansas, and finally into the South through Oklahoma and Arkansas.
At 1,469 miles (2,364 km), it is the sixth-longest river in the United States, the second-longest tributary in the Mississippi–Missouri system, and the 45th longest river in the world. Its origin is in the Rocky Mountains in Lake County, Colorado, near Leadville. In 1859, placer gold discovered in the Leadville area brought thousands seeking to strike it rich, but the easily recovered placer gold was quickly exhausted. The Arkansas River's mouth is at Napoleon, Arkansas, and its drainage basin covers nearly 170,000 square miles (440,000 km2). Its volume is much smaller than the Missouri and Ohio Rivers, with a mean discharge of about 40,000 cubic feet per second (1,100 m3/s).
The Arkansas from its headwaters to the 100th meridian west formed part of the U.S.–Mexico border from the Adams–Onís Treaty (in force 1821) until the Texas Annexation or Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.