notamermaid

The rises both at Hauenstein and Basel are now forecast for during the night, which means Maxau gauge's higher figures have been pushed well into Sunday. Maxau may reach 700cm by tomorrow night. notamermaid

That is good to read. Yes, your weather ans river conditions over there have been favourable. I hope you have been enjoying the season so far. Do you eat Dresdner Stollen? There are those people who prefer marzipan and candied orange peel, or just the marzipan, or neither. I find that last version a bit boring. notamermaid

The temperatures have gone up already, the Rhine valley is well above zero and the sun is shining. Authorities are expecting the level to rise sharply at Hauenstein on the High Rhine this afternoon followed by Basel shortly after. The Aare tributary to the Rhine is on flood alert. The early warning has now been extended to the Middle Rhine valley. notamermaid

Away from the standard and a bit more individuality with - Scenic. Next year sees the Olympics in Paris so Scenic has put together a special itinerary and has added a few new things to its other itineraries: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/sporting-legends-to-join-scenics-olympic-themed-river-cruise notamermaid

Let us have a look at how the Danube did at Pfelling in November: Heavy rain over Germany lead to a sharp rise also on the Danube and eventually put the river over the marker for river traffic being allowed. It was only for a short time. The level fell, but overall remained high and above the statistical mean. From now 472cm we could see the river rise quite high again. But before that becomes a problem usually the bridge at Passau will be the bigger obstacle again for river cruise ships. On this map you can see the Danube basin and Lake Constance. The Lake and some of the area around it drains into the Rhine. Stripes is pre-warning, orange is flood warning: Note that around Nuremberg is the Main Danube Canal which gives it excess water mostly to the Danube. The rises are expected to start late on Sunday mainly along the tributaries of the Danube and then continue to start on Monday at the gauges downstream from around Ingolstadt. notamermaid

Let us have a look at how the river did at Kaub in November: At Kaub the river was relatively high for the season, November started around the long-term statistical mean (that is several years). From that the river was then able to rise quickly after heavy rain to flood mark I and beyond. That was not good but not dramatic. But - hang on - wasn't there flooding and a river traffic ban on the Rhine? Yes, you cannot see it at Kaub, this was only the section further upstream that includes Maxau gauge, as well as Basel in Switzerland for a short time. This is the graph for Maxau: Although the figures more or less correspond in their rise, the situation at Maxau was more serious and the conditions on the river and along its banks made the authorities issue a river traffic ban. This happens at 750cm, the line marked with flood level II and HSW, this stands for the level which is the highest allowed for river traffic. The level at Maxau gauge fell but remained high throughout the rest of November and from there we now face another rise. The baseline being so high, the rain and snow melt give us the prospect of another river cruise ban. The newspapers are already reporting on the forecast and weather giving us a high risk of flooding. 750cm is almost certain and 780cm is very likely. This fast rise is expected to start in the early hours of Sunday and bring the river to 750cm and more within 24 hours. This is the map with the warnings for Southern Germany: At the end of the broken line at the bottom of the map is the Rhine knee at Basel, that is the sharp bend at which the Rhine changes course and flows North. notamermaid

That sounds nice. Have not bought any stollen yet, but found some local baker with a variety pack of Christmas biscuits, real traditional stuff. Not cheap and very good quality. I really enjoy what they have put together in the gold paper cardboard tray. The other day a very dear person went on an errand and I suggested: "while you are there could have a look in the big supermarket if..." So he did and got me a small pack of Wensleydale cheese. I was so happy. For the real English sausages I would have to travel to the Netherlands I think, to an expat shop. notamermaid

The flood warning map has just come up with this: red stripes is early warning, orange is warning. Does not look nice. Details as always I will put in the respective threads. This certainly does not help to get me in a festive mood. I am struggling with that anyway. notamermaid

Brilliant, just brilliant... The thaw is here and we are facing flooding on the Rhine. Inevitable it is, we just do not know yet how bad it is going to get.. A river traffic ban could be anything between four hours and four days. The Isar should rise a bit more slowly but I read that your temperatures will also rise well above zero. It is not clear yet how bad the impact on the Danube will be. I fear this will be an abysmal week for river cruisers trying to enjoy the markets in Germany. notamermaid

The blockage on the Rhine has gone but we are now expecting flooding as there is a sudden, strong thaw and rain is also forecast. For the Danube things are looking a bit more relaxed for now, the temperatures are lower than in the West but will be above zero. A rise in water levels will be inevitable but it looks as if the Rhine valley will feel the brunt of it. For the Danube and Main we will see. The problem areas are Bamberg to Nuremberg and to the Southwest in the Upper Danube valley. notamermaid

Thank you for the info. That is interesting. It looks as if Uniworld is doing a pre-emptive change due to the expected flooding. Smart move. The German authorities are stating this: "Aufgrund des für das Wochenende vorhergesagten Tauwetters mit Regen werden die Wasserstände am Oberrhein ab dem morgigen Samstag stark ansteigen. Am Pegel Maxau wird ein Überschreiten der Meldehöhe von 700 cm am späten Samstag oder frühen Sonntag erwartet." So, as I said, a thaw with rain making the levels rise. Maxau gauge is expected to reach official flooding status of 700cm late on Saturday or early Sunday. To which I may add that it is likely now that there will be a river traffic ban. notamermaid

Sorry, I have no idea. It was no mentioned in the reports. We now have a forecast that shows almost certainty for flooding at Maxau from the 10th. But first a look at November. notamermaid

Time to have a look at how the river did at Dresden in November: Simply a good month. It started on a slight low but soon recovered and got closer to the mean (MW) and finally above. There it remained without getting too high. notamermaid

For the record. According to the police report of WSP-Station St. Goar a tanker got grounded at Bacharach on 6 December at about 7.45am. The tanker was freed around lunchtime on 7 December, so river traffic was allowed to resume at 1.11pm for the upstream direction. The downstream direction followed later. So river traffic was suspended for about 29 hours. The Viking Kara left Rüdesheim at about 1.46pm and sailed downstream. notamermaid

My pleasure. I am only the messenger. A big relief for everyone. And well done to the teams working hard to get the traffic flowing again. It looks as if the backlog has been cleared. The Viking Kara signalled at Boppard earlier and may be docked in Koblenz right now. No terrestrial signal available. notamermaid

Britain has got weather warnings for heavy rain and it looks as if we will follow soon after - we usually do. A wet weekend and potentially flooding on the Rhine. Not fun. It is now too warm again for snow around here. A pity. notamermaid

Update: the tanker has been freed. The lighter and the tanker will sail and then anchor in Bingen. River traffic is resuming, upstream sailing has priority as I mentioned. notamermaid

Update: a container ship is also at the scene to stabilize the barge, as well as the tugboat holding the position of the tanker as it needs to be kept from drifting the moment it looses touch with the ground. So no chance of traffic getting past. River traffic will resume in a coordinated manner, i.e. regulated by the authorities. Upstream sailing has priority. notamermaid

In contrast to the Rhine where we have a ship blocking the channel in the Rhine Gorge (expected to be freed soon) things seem quiet on the Danube, at least West of Budapest. Chaotic snow conditions in some areas excepted. Wet weather is coming so we need to expect a rise of the water levels. This will be on the 10th or 11th. notamermaid

I am afraid so. Water levels are high but fine. Rise at Basel and Maxau still expected for the 10th and 11th respectively. The ship has arrived at Bacharach to lighten the tanker. The rescue operation has started. As per news report of an hour ago things are going well. River traffic remains suspended till the tanker is completely freed. notamermaid

I think it is one up and down in that area, further on there is a traffic lights system. It is quite narrow, but I admit I am bit surprised the authorities do not allow slow sailing past of one ship at a time. It must be too dangerous, especially during the rescue effort. notamermaid

The "car park" at Bingen and Rüdesheim: A bit enlarged, just Bingen: Viking has a rare appearance at Bingen with the Viking Ve. You can look up the Bingen dock with the Viking Ve at the far left corner in the webcam here: https://heimatzeithotels.panomax.com/bingen As this is a webcam that archives the material you can go back to this tomorrow for example. notamermaid

And these are only the things I report. I have left out the minor mishaps. Depending on how this goes tomorrow, there may have to be a fast run for the odd ship to Basel before the level gets too high. I look at Maxau gauge forecast twice a day. Even the best case scenario is not looking too brilliant. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it. notamermaid

They have indeed. The authorities and people of Heidelberg have reacted. Also in Koblenz. notamermaid

Bad news. The ship that is supposed to take the load - Diesel - of the tanker will not arrive before tomorrow. The traffic jam is already in full swing. Bingen opposite Rüdesheim has 30 ships anchored. Basically, the car park is full... Ships will now anchor further upstream or if they are sailing upstream anchor at Koblenz and other places. River traffic remains suspended between Bingen and Kaub. notamermaid