Ozarks rivers do not move through the year at the same pace. This view uses daily USGS discharge records from seven rivers over water years 2002–2025 to show the seasonal pulse beneath day-to-day weather.
The comparison covers the Buffalo, Current, Jacks Fork, Eleven Point, North Fork, James and Spring rivers.
The charts use long-run daily records rather than today's river level. Missing days remain missing; they are never treated as zero.
This view compares each river's highest monthly median with its October median. A fuller seasonal comparison is not shown here. Raw cubic-feet-per-second values are not used to rank one river against another.
Seasonal contrast within each river — bar lengths are not comparable between rivers.
| River | Peak month | Peak median (cfs) | October median (cfs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo River near St. Joe | April | 1,450 | 67.3 |
| Current River at Van Buren | May | 3,175 | 972 |
| Jacks Fork at Eminence | May | 737 | 179 |
| Eleven Point River near Bardley | May | 1,270 | 464 |
| North Fork River near Tecumseh | May | 1,060 | 369 |
| James River at Galena | May | 1,505 | 207 |
| Spring River at Hardy | May | 1,500 | 408.5 |
Most of these rivers reach their highest monthly median flow in May. The Buffalo is the exception, with its highest monthly median in April. All seven reach their lowest monthly median in October.