Lake Conditions:  Partly Cloudy - 59° / Lake Temperature  63° - 354.77'
Lynnhurst
Lynnhurst
Lynnhurst

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Lake Barkley Levels

Heavy Rains Through Sunday Morning

The severe thunderstorm threat will diminish some this week but we're not completely out of the woods for additional strong storms through Saturday. Scattered damage reports were coming in late Wednesday night across western Kentucky, but there were no reports of damage at area marinas at the time of this writing. You can follow the latest severe weather outlooks at this link.

The bigger story is the potentially historic amount of rainfall that is forecast for this week. A Flood Watch is in effect until Sunday for rainfall amounts of up to 12 inches now through Sunday morning. You can get the latest NWS rainfall forecasts here on our site.

Current flow is already exceeding 100,000 cfs at Kentucky Dam. The lakes may drop a bit Thursday as TVA increases water storage capacity in the lakes to help prevent flooding downstream. The lakes will surely rise, but for now it's too early to tell how high the lakes will go up. We'll stay on top of it.

Lake Barkley data reported from TVA as of Noon CDT Apr. 03

Upper Stage Lower Stage

Lake Barkley

354.6'

328.2'

Normal:

354.4'

302.0'

From Normal:

+0.2

+26.2

Last Hour Discharge:

111,200 cfs

Water Clarity:

Stained

Generation Schedule:

04/03/2025, Midnight - 2 PM CDT - 2 or more generators
04/03/2025, 2 PM - Midnight CDT - 0 generators

Lake Barkley Operating Guide

Summer Pool 359.0': May 1 - Jul 4

Winter Pool 354.0': Dec 1 - Mar 31

Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are connected by a free-flowing canal. Although Lake Barkley is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, both lakes share the same normal elevations. TVA and USACE cordinate the management of the lakes' levels, especially during significant rainfall or flooding events.

Lake Barkley Records

  • Lake Barkley Record High:  372.49' - 5/04/2011
  • Lake Barkley Record Low:  352.3' - 4/19/1982
  • Lake Barkley Record cfs:  303,000 - 5/04/11
  • Lake Barkley Lower Record High:  350.8' - 5/04/11

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