water temps

Wondering where to find current water temps. I thought the USGS had them but I can’t find them on the site.



Looking at the state of Wisconsin.

USGS

– Last Updated: Apr-21-08 1:14 AM EST –

It looks like part of the USGS server is not working: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=05340500&agency_cd=USGS

From another link via NPS that I use I can't even find it at all. River temps are listed in some places.

Some USGS stations record temperatures,.
…but most don’t. I occassionally check temperatures myself, but I don’t consider these readings to be highly accurate because when it comes to lakes, any place I can reach from shore is likely to be several degrees warmer than the average for that body of water on a sunny day, and several degrees colder than the average after a cold spell (or just a cold night). Your own temperature determinations for rivers are likely to be more accurate because the water is better mixed.



This time of year, it’s usually enough to know that the water is really really cold, and that you should have a plan regarding how you will handle a capsize. That plan will include what you wear in the boat, what extra clothing you bring along, and these choices in turn are affected by what sort of waters you will be boating on (on small rivers you may decide not to dress as conservatively for immersion as you would for traveling farther from shore on lakes, or on rivers with whitewater).

USGS
I routinely use the USGS gauges for locations in North Dakota. We’re lucky enough to have a temperature sensor in town (Grand Forks)on the Red River… we’re up to ~48F. Dry suit time still!

Try this
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/

Up in Wisconsin…




…Up in Wisconsin

The weather’s not very nice

Up in Wisconsin

Up in Wisconsin

They have to fish right through the ice.



Look. It’s Wisconsin. Global warming is the only

reason chunks of the original glacier aren’t still

in Lake Superior.



It’s cold. Snow melt. They don’t record the

water temps because it’s embarrassing.

oh my
yes!! And I am sooo thankful for the cold! Keeps the masses away :slight_smile:



I guess I am just curious more than anything. There was a thread that was discussing water temps on the Potomac. I was curious where they were getting the info.



I do have a dry suit and will be wearing it. Going to do some flat water today at Horicon Marsh.

river temperature
Try googling mid-atlantic river forecast center.It will give you the noaa website and you can follow it to Potomac water temperatures.

Check fishing web sites
For fishing, water temp matters quite a bit because it suggests likely fish activity. So for inland waters, if you can find serious fishing organizations you can probably find water temps online at their sites, at least for river stretches that they use.

We’re fortunate …
… to have MARFC here in the mid-Atlantic region for water temps. conditions etc., I checked it to try and find same for Wisconsin but came up empty ?? … was in Wisconsin once , beautiful place , I saw the longest shadows there I can ever remember !! … also there’s a nad of difference between Wisconsin’s deer crossing road signs and ours down here , lol …

WI USGS Water temps
These are the sites in Wisconsin that have temp info.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wi/nwis/dv?referred_module=sw&county_cd=55001&county_cd=55003&county_cd=55005&county_cd=55007&county_cd=55009&county_cd=55011&county_cd=55013&county_cd=55015&county_cd=55017&county_cd=55019&county_cd=55021&county_cd=55023&county_cd=55025&county_cd=55027&county_cd=55029&county_cd=55031&county_cd=55033&county_cd=55035&county_cd=55037&county_cd=55039&county_cd=55041&county_cd=55043&county_cd=55045&county_cd=55047&county_cd=55049&county_cd=55051&county_cd=55053&county_cd=55055&county_cd=55057&county_cd=55059&county_cd=55061&county_cd=55063&county_cd=55065&county_cd=55067&county_cd=55069&county_cd=55071&county_cd=55073&county_cd=55075&county_cd=55077&county_cd=55078&county_cd=55079&county_cd=55081&county_cd=55083&county_cd=55085&county_cd=55087&county_cd=55089&county_cd=55091&county_cd=55093&county_cd=55095&county_cd=55097&county_cd=55099&county_cd=55101&county_cd=55103&county_cd=55105&county_cd=55107&county_cd=55109&county_cd=55111&county_cd=55113&county_cd=55115&county_cd=55117&county_cd=55119&county_cd=55121&county_cd=55123&county_cd=55125&county_cd=55127&county_cd=55129&county_cd=55131&county_cd=55133&county_cd=55135&county_cd=55137&county_cd=55139&county_cd=55141&station_type_cd=Y&station_type_cd=Y&station_type_cd=Y&station_type_cd=Y&station_type_cd=Y&station_type_cd=Y&index_pmcode_00065=1&index_pmcode_00010=1&format=station_list&sort_key=station_nm&group_key=county_cd&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=agency_cd&column_name=site_no&column_name=station_nm&range_selection=days&period=365&begin_date=&end_date=&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&list_of_search_criteria=county_cd%2Cstation_type_cd%2Crealtime_parameter_selection

Thermometer.