Water year (1 May – 30 Apr)
EXPERIMENTAL statistical estimate · not an official ACP outlook ·
Data: lake levels and rain gauges – Panama Canal Authority (ACP Hydrometeorology) ·
El Niño index – NOAA CPC ·
rainfall outlook – ECMWF SEAS5 via Open-Meteo.com ·
rainfall 1965–2014 – ERA5 via Open-Meteo.com, generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information ·
Open-Meteo data used under CC BY 4.0
Ideal> 87 ft
38-40 vessels50 ft DraftFull capacity ops.
Normal85 - 87 ft
36-38 vessels50 ft DraftStandard ops.
Watch83 - 85 ft
32-36 vessels48-50 ft DraftEarly warnings.
Restricted80 - 83 ft
28-32 vessels45-48 ft DraftModerate cuts.
Severe79 - 80 ft
24-28 vessels44-46 ft DraftHeavy restrictions.
Critical< 79 ft
22-24 vessels< 44 ft DraftMax restrictions.