Hugh Butler Lake water level: Hugh Butler 
16.9 ft low
Hugh Butler Lake is 16.9 ft below full pool, about normal for early November. The Red Willow Dam (Hugh Butler L) gauge read 2,564.93 ft at 6:00 AM CST, November 3, 2026.
How Hugh Butler stands today
In early November Hugh Butler normally sits near 2,565.84 ft, 16.0 ft under full pool, so most of today's gap is the usual seasonal drawdown.
- 2,564.93 Feet above sea level6:00 AM CST, November 3, 2026, LOCAL datum.
- −16.87 Feet from full poolFull pool today is 2,581.80 ft.
- 30.6 Percent of conservation storageWater held above bottom of conservation, as a share of the pool's capacity.
- −0.91 Feet from normal for Nov 3Median of 2018–2025 is 2,565.84 ft. Today ranks in the 25th percentile.
- −0.36 Feet from a year ago2,565.29 ft on November 3, 2025.
- +0.16 Feet over 30 days+0.21 ft over the past 7 days.
The past year, day by day
The shaded band is where Hugh Butler usually sits on each date: the middle 80% of years from 2018 to 2025. The blue line is the past 12 months; the sand line is the 12 months before. Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.
- Past 12 months
- The 12 months before
- Normal range (middle 80% of years)
- Median
- Full pool
Monthly average since 2018
Readings for the last 30 days
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2026 | 2,564.83 | 2,565.84 |
| November 2, 2026 | 2,564.74 | 2,565.84 |
| November 1, 2026 | 2,564.71 | 2,565.84 |
| October 31, 2026 | 2,564.77 | 2,565.84 |
| October 30, 2026 | 2,564.75 | 2,565.84 |
| October 29, 2026 | 2,564.75 | 2,565.84 |
| October 28, 2026 | 2,564.74 | 2,565.84 |
| October 27, 2026 | 2,564.72 | 2,565.84 |
| October 26, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.84 |
| October 25, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.84 |
| October 24, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.84 |
| October 23, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.84 |
| October 22, 2026 | 2,564.68 | 2,565.84 |
| October 21, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.84 |
| October 20, 2026 | 2,564.67 | 2,565.85 |
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2026 | 2,564.74 | 2,565.85 |
| October 18, 2026 | 2,564.73 | 2,565.86 |
| October 17, 2026 | 2,564.73 | 2,565.87 |
| October 16, 2026 | 2,564.73 | 2,565.87 |
| October 15, 2026 | 2,564.72 | 2,565.88 |
| October 14, 2026 | 2,564.74 | 2,565.88 |
| October 13, 2026 | 2,564.82 | 2,565.89 |
| October 12, 2026 | 2,564.82 | 2,565.90 |
| October 11, 2026 | 2,564.81 | 2,565.91 |
| October 10, 2026 | 2,564.80 | 2,565.91 |
| October 9, 2026 | 2,564.80 | 2,565.92 |
| October 8, 2026 | 2,564.81 | 2,565.93 |
| October 7, 2026 | 2,564.81 | 2,565.94 |
| October 6, 2026 | 2,564.82 | 2,565.94 |
| October 5, 2026 | 2,564.76 | 2,565.95 |
Is the water above your dock?
Enter the elevation of your dock, ramp end or a mark on your shoreline, in feet above sea level (LOCAL, the datum the Army Corps of Engineers uses for this gauge). You will see how far the water is above or below it today, and how often it dipped below it in each month since 2017.
| Month | Low year (10th %) | Median | High year (90th %) | Days above your mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2,561.46 | 2,566.58 | 2,572.37 | — |
| February | 2,562.27 | 2,566.89 | 2,572.78 | — |
| March | 2,562.91 | 2,567.37 | 2,572.39 | — |
| April | 2,563.29 | 2,567.65 | 2,573.81 | — |
| May | 2,564.48 | 2,568.18 | 2,573.94 | — |
| June | 2,565.62 | 2,568.60 | 2,573.41 | — |
| July | 2,565.40 | 2,566.57 | 2,572.67 | — |
| August | 2,562.87 | 2,566.85 | 2,571.14 | — |
| September | 2,560.09 | 2,565.55 | 2,570.13 | — |
| October | 2,559.92 | 2,565.54 | 2,571.35 | — |
| November | 2,560.10 | 2,565.74 | 2,571.44 | — |
| December | 2,560.56 | 2,566.11 | 2,571.89 | — |
Other Nebraska lakes, lowest first
| Lake | Level (ft) | Vs full pool |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Strunk Lake | 2,355.54 | 51.3% full |
 Harlan County Lake | 1,932.96 | 53.7% full |
| Enders Reservoir | 3,080.16 | 0.3% full |
| Swanson Lake | 2,734.14 | 38.8% full |
 Lewis and Clark Lake | 1,208.17 | 3.7 ft above |
Hugh Butler questions
What is full pool at Hugh Butler Lake?
Full pool at Hugh Butler Lake is 2,581.80 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of conservation.”
Is Hugh Butler Lake full right now?
No. It is 16.9 ft below full pool and holds 30.6% of its conservation storage. In early November Hugh Butler normally sits near 2,565.84 ft, 16.0 ft under full pool, so most of today's gap is the usual seasonal drawdown.
Is Hugh Butler Lake lower than normal for early November?
No, it is close to normal. The median level on Nov 3 across 2018–2025 is 2,565.84 ft, and today's 2,564.93 ft is −0.91 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 2,562.04 and 2,569.57 ft.
How does Hugh Butler Lake compare with last year?
A year ago, on November 3, 2025, it stood at 2,565.29 ft. It is 0.36 ft lower now.
What are the highest and lowest levels since 2017?
In the daily record we hold, which starts in 2017, the highest daily level was 2,574.28 ft on May 26, 2020 and the lowest was 2,556.99 ft on December 19, 2021.
How often is this page updated?
We pull new readings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers several times a day. This page was last rebuilt on Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:13:17 UTC. Readings are provisional and can be revised by the agency.