Lakefullness

Lake Barkley water level: Barkley Lake Barkley 4.3 ft low

Lake Barkley is 4.3 ft below full pool, about normal for early November. The Barkley Lock and Dam gauge read 354.75 ft at 7:00 AM EST, November 4, 2026.

Check your dock

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, LRN district. Agency page.

How Barkley stands today

353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 Full pool 359.00 ft Normal today 354.87 ft A year ago 354.80 ft Today 354.75 ft Feet above sea level (NGVD29)
Kentucky and Barkley Lakes aerial view
Kentucky and Barkley Lakes aerial view. Photograph by George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain.

The past year, day by day

The shaded band is where Barkley usually sits on each date: the middle 80% of years from 1996 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
354 356 358 360 362 364 DecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov Full pool 359.00 Today Year ago
354 356 358 360 362 364 DecFebAprJunAugOct Full pool 359.00 Today Year ago

Monthly average since 2006

3553603652006200920122015201820212024
35536036520062011201620212026
Readings for the last 30 days
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
November 4, 2026354.75354.87
November 3, 2026354.79354.84
November 2, 2026354.77354.85
November 1, 2026354.88354.85
October 31, 2026354.86354.84
October 30, 2026354.87354.88
October 29, 2026354.91354.90
October 28, 2026354.88354.91
October 27, 2026354.89354.95
October 26, 2026354.83354.94
October 25, 2026354.90354.96
October 24, 2026354.95354.98
October 23, 2026354.89354.92
October 22, 2026354.86354.92
October 21, 2026354.83354.96
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
October 20, 2026354.74355.03
October 19, 2026354.64355.06
October 18, 2026354.60355.06
October 17, 2026354.42355.06
October 16, 2026354.29355.05
October 15, 2026354.65355.06
October 14, 2026354.79355.07
October 13, 2026354.81355.08
October 12, 2026354.84355.11
October 11, 2026354.89355.12
October 10, 2026355.06355.11
October 9, 2026355.10355.11
October 8, 2026355.09355.10
October 7, 2026355.09355.05
October 6, 2026355.09355.07

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 (NGVD29, 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 2016.

Today the lake is at 354.75 ft.

Typical Lake Barkley level by month since 2016
MonthLow year (10th %)MedianHigh year (90th %)Days above your mark
January 354.48 355.17 357.54 —
February 354.35 355.09 357.20 —
March 354.41 355.44 358.07 —
April 355.91 358.15 359.74 —
May 358.89 359.30 360.43 —
June 358.93 359.24 360.03 —
July 358.05 358.88 359.56 —
August 356.65 357.41 358.32 —
September 355.20 355.80 356.55 —
October 354.37 354.90 355.45 —
November 354.41 354.75 355.58 —
December 354.40 354.96 355.84 —

Other Kentucky lakes, lowest first

Lake Barkley
Lake Barkley
Kentucky lakes ranked by how full they are
Lake Level (ft) Vs full pool For the date
Laurel River Lake 999.31 19.2 ft below Much lower than usual
Grayson Lake 642.67 — Much lower than usual
Paintsville Lake 708.55 98.8% full Much lower than usual
Yatesville Lake 629.43 100.4% full Much lower than usual
Rough River Lake 481.89 37.4% full Much lower than usual
Green River Lake 673.72 80.8% full Lower than usual
Kentucky Lake 354.56 At pool About normal
Taylorsville Lake 545.74 36.7% full About normal
Carr Creek Lake 1,023.22 47.0% full About normal
Lake Cumberland 691.12 31.9 ft below About normal
Dale Hollow Lake 638.25 12.8 ft below About normal
Barren River Lake 542.84 53.8% full About normal
Buckhorn Lake 780.73 37.4% full Higher than usual
Nolin River Lake 511.56 82.0% full Much higher than usual

All 18 Kentucky lakes →

Barkley questions

What is full pool at Lake Barkley?

Full pool at Lake Barkley is 359.00 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of normal.”

Is Lake Barkley full right now?

No. It is 4.3 ft below full pool.

Is Lake Barkley lower than normal for early November?

No, it is close to normal. The median level on Nov 4 across 1996–2025 is 354.87 ft, and today's 354.75 ft is −0.12 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 354.44 and 356.53 ft.

How does Lake Barkley compare with last year?

A year ago, on November 4, 2025, it stood at 354.80 ft. It is 0.05 ft lower now.

What are the highest and lowest levels since 1994?

In the daily record we hold, which starts in 1994, the highest daily level was 372.47 ft on May 4, 2011 and the lowest was 353.11 ft on January 30, 1996.

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.