Lake Conditions:  Fair - 57° / Lake Temperature  66° - 354.7'
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Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley Levels & Weather

Current Weather

Murray, KY - Kyle-Oakley Field (KCEY)

Last Updated on Oct 23 2019, 7:55 pm CDT

Weather

Air Temp

Wind

Dewpoint

Pressure

Fair

57°

Southeast 5 mph

37°

30.14"

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 8 PM 10/23/2019

Upper Stage Lower Stage Water Temp

Kentucky Lake

354.7'

301.5'

66°

24 Hour Change:

0.0'

0.4'▼

From Normal:

+0.1'

-0.5'

Last Hour Discharge:

28,600 cfs / Low

Water Clarity:

Normal

Generation Schedule:

10/23/2019, midnight - midnight - 4 or more generators
10/24/2019, midnight - midnight - 4 or more generators

Kentucky Lakes Stages - Previous 48 Hours

Upper Stage Lower Stage

Lake Barkley

354.9'

302.2'

24 Hour Change

0.0'

0.5'▼

From Normal:

+0.3'

+0.2'

Last Hour Discharge:

8,900 cfs / Low

Water Clarity:

Some Stain

Generation Schedule:

10/23/2019, midnight - 7am - 1 generators
10/23/2019, 7am - 2pm - 0 generators
10/23/2019, 2pm - midnight - 1 generators
10/24/2019, midnight - 6am - 1 generators
10/24/2019, 6am - 10am - 2 or more generators
10/24/2019, 10am - 4pm - 1 generators
10/24/2019, 4pm - 8pm - 2 or more generators
10/24/2019, 8pm - midnight - 1 generators

Lake Barkley Stages - Previous 48 Hours

Upper Stage Lower Stage Water Temp

Normals

354.6'

302.0'

66°

Special Lake Information & Notices

Stay safe on the water! Remember to stay in the channels when running the lakes.

TVA Lake Level Forecasts

Forecast Kentucky Upper Kentucky Flow Barkley Upper Barkley Flow
Today 5:00pm 354.8' 22,280 cfs 354.8' 9,730 cfs
11:00pm 354.8' 24,850 cfs 354.8' 8,900 cfs
10/24 5:00am 354.8' 21,000 cfs 354.8' 8,800 cfs
11:00am 354.8' 21,000 cfs 354.7' 8,800 cfs
5:00pm 354.8' 26,330 cfs 354.7' 15,600 cfs
11:00pm 354.8' 27,670 cfs 354.7' 15,600 cfs
10/25 5:00am 354.8' 21,000 cfs 354.8' 8,800 cfs
11:00am 354.7' 21,000 cfs 354.7' 8,800 cfs
5:00pm 354.7' 26,330 cfs 354.7' 15,600 cfs
11:00pm 354.7' 27,670 cfs 354.7' 15,600 cfs
10/26 5:00am 354.7' 21,000 cfs 354.7' 8,800 cfs
11:00am 354.7' 21,000 cfs 354.6' 8,800 cfs
5:00pm 354.7' 25,000 cfs 354.7' 8,800 cfs
11:00pm 354.7' 22,330 cfs 354.7' 8,800 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.

TVA Operating Guide

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.

Lake Conditions & Weather