Skagit River at Marblemount, WA
North Cascades & Puget Sound · USGS gauge 12181000 · Updated Oct 24, 2:37 PM PDT · USGS data, provisional
All 2 Skagit River gauges in Washington
Reading time: Oct 24, 2:15 PM 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
- 21st percentile
- Typical range (25th–75th)
- 3,720–5,940 cfs
- Median for this date
- 4,610 cfs
- 7-day low / high
- 3,280 / 4,710 cfs
Plain-language explanation
Skagit River at Marblemount is flowing at 3,470 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of Oct 24, 2:15 PM PDT. That is on the low side for this time of year: lower than about 79% of the daily flows this gauge has recorded for this date (give or take 7 days) over 57 years of record (1943–2026).
The middle half of those historical flows runs from 3,720 to 5,940 cfs, with a median of 4,610 cfs; the lowest 10% of days are at or below 2,654 cfs and the highest 10% at or above 8,088 cfs.
Over the last 24 hours the flow has been steady (-1.4%). In the last 7 days it ranged from 3,280 to 4,710 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).
Quick answers
Is the Skagit River at Marblemount fishable today?
Flowcast's status for the Skagit River at Marblemount is “Fishable/Floatable”: flow is 3,470 cfs, within the range this gauge normally sees at this time of year, at the 21st percentile for this date (as of Oct 24, 2:15 PM PDT). That describes flow only. It says nothing about water clarity, temperature, fish activity, access or fishing regulations.
What is the current flow of the Skagit River at Marblemount?
3,470 cubic feet per second at USGS gauge 12181000 as of Oct 24, 2:15 PM PDT, provisional data.
Is the Skagit River at Marblemount too high or too low right now?
Neither: it is inside the typical range for the date (3,720 to 5,940 cfs).
Is the Skagit River at Marblemount rising or falling?
Over the last 24 hours the flow has been steady (-1.4%).
What is a normal flow for the Skagit River at Marblemount in October?
For this date (give or take 7 days) the median is 4,610 cfs and the middle half of days runs 3,720 to 5,940 cfs, over 57 years of USGS record.
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 | 3,404 | 25th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Mon Oct 19 | 4,057 | 42nd | Fishable/Floatable |
| Tue Oct 20 | 4,208 | 45th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Wed Oct 21 | 3,992 | 37th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Thu Oct 22 | 4,122 | 39th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Fri Oct 23 | 3,745 | 27th | Fishable/Floatable |
| Sat Oct 24 (so far) | 3,497 | 21st | 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 57 years of USGS daily data (1943–2026).
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Official resources
- USGS site page for gauge 12181000 (USGS: live readings, history, station details)
- Washington fishing regulations (WDFW)
- Emergency fishing rule changes (WDFW)
- WDFW fishing and stocking reports
- Puget Sound creel reports (WDFW)
Agency notices that mention this river
- “Cascade River to open seven days per week to fishing, and temporary closure implemented in a portion of the Skagit River” (WDFW emergency rules)
Copied from the WDFW emergency rules page as of Oct 24, 2:40 PM PDT. They match on the river's name only and may concern a different stretch. Open the page for the details.
Links go to the agencies' own websites and were checked as working. Flowcast does not summarize fishing or boating rules: regulations and closures change, and the agency pages are the authority.
About this gauge
- USGS site
- USGS-12181000
- USGS name
- Skagit River At Marblemount, Wa
- Drainage area
- 1,381 sq mi
- Location
- 48.5337, -121.4298
- Record in this analysis
- 1943–2026
Typical uses
Notes: Gauge is downstream of the Skagit hydro dams, so flows are partly regulated. (Hand-written general note, not from USGS data.)
Nearby gauges
- Cascade River at Marblemount, WA Too low 150 cfs · about 1 mi away (straight line)
- Sauk River near Sauk, WA Too low 634 cfs · about 10 mi away (straight line)
- North Fork Stillaguamish River near Arlington, WA Too low 177 cfs · about 34 mi away (straight line)
- Stehekin River at Stehekin, WA Too low 230 cfs · about 37 mi away (straight line)
- Skagit River near Mount Vernon, WA Fishable/Floatable 6,940 cfs · about 42 mi away (straight line)
- Skykomish River near Gold Bar, WA Too low 398 cfs · about 49 mi away (straight line)
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