How high is the Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA right now?

The Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA is currently flowing at 4,710 cubic feet per second with a gage height of 4.73 feet, based on the most recent USGS instantaneous reading.

Is the flow on the Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA normal for this time of year?

Current flow is classified as normal for October 28. Today's discharge is at the 61th percentile compared to the long-term historical record at this gauge.

Is the Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA at flood stage?

No — the gage height is 7.77 feet below the NWS flood-stage threshold of 12.5 feet.

What is the historical median flow for the Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA on October 28?

The long-term median discharge for this date is 2,300 cfs based on USGS daily statistics. The 10th–95th percentile range historically is 937 to unavailable cfs.

Where is the Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA stream gauge located?

The Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA stream gauge is operated by the USGS in Linn County, IA on the Cedar River. USGS site number 05464420 (coordinates 42.0692, -91.7852).

Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA

USGS Site No: 05464420 • Cedar River • Linn County, IA

Cedar River at Blairs Ferry Road at Palo, IA on the Cedar River is currently at 4,710 cfs (Normal — 61th percentile for this date) . Gage height: 4.73 ft.

Reading from 4 months ago

↑ Upstream on Cedar River

Cedar River at Vinton, IA

Downstream on Cedar River ↓

Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, IA

4,710

CFS Discharge

4.73

Gage Height (ft)

Normal

Flow Condition

Normal

Flood Status

Historical Percentile Comparison

Today's discharge compared to the long-term record for October 28 at this station. Percentile rank shows what fraction of historical years had lower flow on this date.

Percentile	Label	CFS Threshold	Today's Flow
10th	Very Low threshold	937
25th	Low threshold	1,290
50th (Median)	Normal (median)	2,300
75th	High threshold	7,580	Today: 4,710 cfs
95th	Very High threshold	0

30-Day Hydrograph

Recent discharge plotted against the historical 10th–95th percentile envelope for the same calendar days. Source: USGS daily values + long-term statistics.

10th–95th historical Day-of-year median Recent discharge

30-Day Flow History

Date	Discharge (CFS)	Gage Ht (ft)
May 28, 2026	4,930	—
May 27, 2026	5,110	—
May 26, 2026	5,350	—
May 25, 2026	5,600	—
May 24, 2026	5,900	—
May 23, 2026	6,280	—
May 22, 2026	6,560	—
May 21, 2026	6,670	—
May 20, 2026	6,250	—
May 19, 2026	5,570	—
May 18, 2026	5,120	—
May 17, 2026	4,790	—
May 16, 2026	4,570	—
May 15, 2026	4,630	—
Apr 20, 2026	18,200	—
Apr 19, 2026	20,700	—
Apr 18, 2026	20,700	—
Apr 17, 2026	17,800	—
Apr 16, 2026	15,700	—
Apr 15, 2026	11,900	—
Apr 14, 2026	12,100	—
Apr 13, 2026	13,200	—
Apr 12, 2026	15,200	—
Apr 11, 2026	17,800	—
Apr 10, 2026	21,700	—
Apr 9, 2026	25,400	—
Apr 8, 2026	26,400	—
Apr 7, 2026	23,200	—
Apr 6, 2026	19,000	—
Apr 5, 2026	14,900	—

Station Information

USGS Site No: 05464420
State: IA
County: Linn County
Coordinates: 42.0692, -91.7852
Drainage Area: 6,342 mi²
Datum (ft): 725.5
HUC Code: 07080205

View on USGS NWIS →

Flood Stage Thresholds

Action Stage: 11.0 ft
Flood Stage: 12.5 ft
Moderate Flood: 15.5 ft
Major Flood: 17.0 ft

Currently 7.77 ft below flood stage.

Recent Extremes

Max discharge: 30,700 cfs

Aug 3, 2025
Min discharge: 1,590 cfs

Dec 15, 2025
Days at flood stage: 0

Computed from the local daily-values archive.

Nearby Gauges

Morgan Creek Near Covington, IA
5.7 mi · 6 cfs

Normal
Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, IA
9.0 mi · 4,430 cfs

High
Indian Creek at Marion, IA
9.3 mi · 18 cfs

Normal
Cedar River Below Indian Creek at Cedar Rapids, IA
13.0 mi · 4,180 cfs

Normal
Cedar River at Vinton, IA
14.1 mi · 4,360 cfs

Normal