Lake Levels & Conditions

Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley Levels & Weather

Current Weather

Murray, KY - Kyle-Oakley Field (KCEY) Last Updated on Aug 12 2020, 2:55 am CDT
Weather	Air Temp	Wind	Dewpoint	Pressure
Mostly Cloudy	73°	North 0 mph	73°	30.01"

Get more current weather conditions and extended forecasts for towns in the Kentucky Lake region.

Current Lake Levels

Lake levels reported from TVA as of 3 AM 8/12/2020

	Upper Stage	Lower Stage	Water Temp
Kentucky Lake	357.4'	301.6'	86°
24 Hour Change:	0.0'	0.2'▼
From Normal:	+0.3'	-0.4'
Last Hour Discharge:	21,520 cfs / Low
Water Clarity:	Normal
Generation Schedule:	8/12/2020, midnight - midnight - 4 or more generators

Kentucky Lakes Stages - Previous 48 Hours

	Upper Stage	Lower Stage
Lake Barkley	357.4'	303.5'
24 Hour Change	0.0'	0.8'▲
From Normal:	+0.3'	+1.5'
Last Hour Discharge:	8,700 cfs / Low
Water Clarity:	Some Stain
Generation Schedule:	8/12/2020, midnight - 9am - 1 generators 8/12/2020, 9am - 10pm - 2 or more generators 8/12/2020, 10pm - midnight - 1 generators

Lake Barkley Stages - Previous 48 Hours

	Upper Stage	Lower Stage	Water Temp
Normals	357.1'	302.0'	85°

Special Lake Information & Notices

TVA has begun their slow seasonal drawdown of the lake levels. Stay safe out there!

TVA Lake Level Forecasts

Forecast	Kentucky Upper	Kentucky Flow	Barkley Upper	Barkley Flow
Today 3:00am	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.4'	8,700 cfs
9:00am	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.4'	9,920 cfs
3:00pm	357.4'	31,660 cfs	357.3'	35,670 cfs
9:00pm	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.2'	19,020 cfs
8/13 3:00am	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.4'	8,700 cfs
9:00am	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.4'	9,920 cfs
3:00pm	357.4'	31,660 cfs	357.4'	35,670 cfs
9:00pm	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.3'	19,020 cfs
8/14 3:00am	357.5'	28,130 cfs	357.5'	8,700 cfs
9:00am	357.5'	28,130 cfs	357.5'	9,920 cfs
3:00pm	357.5'	31,660 cfs	357.4'	35,670 cfs
9:00pm	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.3'	19,020 cfs
8/15 3:00am	357.4'	21,080 cfs	357.4'	8,700 cfs
9:00am	357.4'	28,130 cfs	357.4'	10,150 cfs

TVA Kentucky Lake Operating Guide

Summer Pool 359.0': May 1 - July 4

Winter Pool 354.0': December 1 - March 31

The gray-shaded area in the chart above shows the target lake stages for Kentucky Lake throughout the course of a year, typically +/- one foot.

Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley Records

• Kentucky Lake Record High:  372.49'- 5/04/2011
• Lake Barkley Record High:  372.49' - 5/04/2011
• Kentucky Lake Record Low:  348.02' - 3/11/1961
• Lake Barkley Record Low:  352.3' - 4/19/1982
• Kentucky Lake Record cfs:  446,000 - 1944
• Lake Barkley Record cfs:  303,000 - 5/04/11
• Lake Barkley Lower Record High:  350.8' - 5/04/11
• Kentucky Lake Record High Water Temp:  90.8° - 8/2/11
• Kentucky Lake Record Low Water Temp:  36.2° - 1/12/2010

Explanation of Lake Level Data

Water temperatures are reported from Hancock Biological Station. The water temperature sensor is near the main river channel and is about three feet below the water's surface.  Click here for a chart of normal water temps. 

Change - this shows the difference in the past 24 hours.

Normal - this shows the departure from normal.

cfs = cubic feet per second, which is the amount of water that is discharged through the dams.

Water Clarity - "stained" means some murkiness or discolor in the lakes.  "Normal" means typical clarity, usually 3-4 feet for Kentucky.  "Muddy" means no clarity at all.

Lake elevation is based on sea-level.  Strength of current is based on the discharge rate at the dams.  Kentucky Lake is much larger than Lake Barkley, so 100,000 cfs at Barkley Dam produces stronger current than 100,000 cfs at Kentucky Dam. Below is an unofficial chart to compare discharge strengths.

Discharge	Kentucky Dam	Barkley Dam
Below 15,000 cfs	Very Low	Low
15,000-30,000	Low	Average
30,000-65,000	Average	Above Average
65,000-100,000	Above Average	Strong
100,000 to 200,000	Strong	Very Strong
200,000 to 300,000	Very Strong	Powerful
300,000 to 400,000	Powerful	Very Powerful
Over 400,000	Very Powerful	Unprecedented

Lake elevations and current forecasts are provided in real-time from TVA and the NWS.

The Kentucky Lake Operating Guide is provided by TVA.