Lake Francis Case water level: Francis Case 
12.1 ft low
Lake Francis Case is 12.1 ft below full pool, much lower than usual for early November. The Fort Randall Dam & Reservoir gauge read 1,337.88 ft at 8:00 AM CST, November 4, 2026.
How Francis Case stands today
In early November Francis Case normally sits near 1,343.64 ft, 6.4 ft under full pool; today it is 5.8 ft below even that.
- 1,337.88 Feet above sea level8:00 AM CST, November 4, 2026, NGVD29 datum.
- −12.12 Feet from full poolFull pool today is 1,350.00 ft.
- −5.76 Feet from normal for Nov 4Median of 1996–2025 is 1,343.64 ft. Today ranks in the 7th percentile.
- −4.92 Feet from a year ago1,342.80 ft on November 4, 2025.
- −13.81 Feet over 30 days−3.29 ft over the past 7 days.
The past year, day by day
The shaded band is where Francis Case 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
Monthly average since 2006
Readings for the last 30 days
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2026 | 1,337.75 | 1,343.64 |
| November 3, 2026 | 1,338.15 | 1,343.88 |
| November 2, 2026 | 1,338.52 | 1,344.12 |
| November 1, 2026 | 1,338.96 | 1,344.54 |
| October 31, 2026 | 1,339.67 | 1,344.86 |
| October 30, 2026 | 1,340.10 | 1,345.12 |
| October 29, 2026 | 1,340.52 | 1,345.47 |
| October 28, 2026 | 1,341.17 | 1,345.90 |
| October 27, 2026 | 1,341.62 | 1,346.26 |
| October 26, 2026 | 1,342.34 | 1,346.59 |
| October 25, 2026 | 1,342.95 | 1,346.91 |
| October 24, 2026 | 1,343.69 | 1,347.20 |
| October 23, 2026 | 1,343.88 | 1,347.54 |
| October 22, 2026 | 1,344.26 | 1,347.87 |
| October 21, 2026 | 1,344.86 | 1,348.19 |
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| October 20, 2026 | 1,345.34 | 1,348.50 |
| October 19, 2026 | 1,345.77 | 1,348.80 |
| October 18, 2026 | 1,346.25 | 1,349.10 |
| October 17, 2026 | 1,346.86 | 1,349.35 |
| October 16, 2026 | 1,347.73 | 1,349.54 |
| October 15, 2026 | 1,347.83 | 1,349.75 |
| October 14, 2026 | 1,348.11 | 1,349.94 |
| October 13, 2026 | 1,348.57 | 1,350.18 |
| October 12, 2026 | 1,349.08 | 1,350.45 |
| October 11, 2026 | 1,349.63 | 1,350.63 |
| October 10, 2026 | 1,350.20 | 1,350.86 |
| October 9, 2026 | 1,350.66 | 1,351.14 |
| October 8, 2026 | 1,351.05 | 1,351.33 |
| October 7, 2026 | 1,351.36 | 1,351.50 |
| October 6, 2026 | 1,351.64 | 1,351.75 |
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.
| Month | Low year (10th %) | Median | High year (90th %) | Days above your mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1,339.75 | 1,342.26 | 1,345.03 | — |
| February | 1,345.23 | 1,348.04 | 1,350.76 | — |
| March | 1,350.33 | 1,353.09 | 1,355.04 | — |
| April | 1,354.36 | 1,355.22 | 1,358.29 | — |
| May | 1,354.81 | 1,356.17 | 1,361.22 | — |
| June | 1,354.63 | 1,355.62 | 1,360.80 | — |
| July | 1,354.99 | 1,355.74 | 1,361.57 | — |
| August | 1,354.81 | 1,355.71 | 1,358.10 | — |
| September | 1,353.43 | 1,354.49 | 1,356.94 | — |
| October | 1,345.50 | 1,349.94 | 1,352.89 | — |
| November | 1,337.07 | 1,340.41 | 1,344.34 | — |
| December | 1,337.71 | 1,338.75 | 1,340.34 | — |
Other South Dakota lakes, lowest first
| Lake | Level (ft) | Vs full pool |
|---|---|---|
 Pactola Reservoir | 4,559.51 | 71.3% full |
 Lake Oahe | 1,592.70 | 14.8 ft below |
| Shadehill Reservoir | 2,264.95 | 58.0% full |
| Lake Traverse | 976.94 | At pool |
 Lake Sharpe | 1,421.18 | 1.2 ft above |
 Lewis and Clark Lake | 1,208.17 | 3.7 ft above |
Francis Case questions
What is full pool at Lake Francis Case?
Full pool at Lake Francis Case is 1,350.00 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of conservation.”
Is Lake Francis Case full right now?
No. It is 12.1 ft below full pool. In early November Francis Case normally sits near 1,343.64 ft, 6.4 ft under full pool; today it is 5.8 ft below even that.
Is Lake Francis Case lower than normal for early November?
Yes. The median level on Nov 4 across 1996–2025 is 1,343.64 ft, and today's 1,337.88 ft is −5.76 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 1,338.74 and 1,346.77 ft.
How does Lake Francis Case compare with last year?
A year ago, on November 4, 2025, it stood at 1,342.80 ft. It is 4.92 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 1,373.96 ft on July 7, 2011 and the lowest was 1,332.69 ft on November 24, 2000.
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.