Lakefullness

Old Hickory Lake water level: Old Hickory Old Hickory Lake 0.7 ft low

Old Hickory Lake is 0.7 ft below full pool, much lower than usual for early November. The Old Hickory Lock and Dam Headwater gauge read 444.29 ft at 6:00 AM CST, November 4, 2026.

Check your dock

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

How Old Hickory stands today

443 443.5 444 444.5 445 445.5 446 446.5 Full pool 445.00 ft A year ago 444.91 ft Normal today 444.73 ft Today 444.29 ft Feet above sea level (NGVD29)
OldHickoryLockandDam
OldHickoryLockandDam. Photograph by Unknown, Public domain.

The past year, day by day

The shaded band is where Old Hickory 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
443 444 445 446 447 DecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov Full pool 445.00 Today Year ago
443 444 445 446 447 DecFebAprJunAugOct Full pool 445.00 Today Year ago

Monthly average since 2006

4434444454462006200920122015201820212024
44344444544620062011201620212026
Readings for the last 30 days
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
November 4, 2026444.51444.73
November 3, 2026444.51444.70
November 2, 2026444.71444.69
November 1, 2026444.80444.69
October 31, 2026444.82444.70
October 30, 2026444.78444.73
October 29, 2026444.57444.73
October 28, 2026444.50444.73
October 27, 2026444.45444.75
October 26, 2026444.42444.73
October 25, 2026444.52444.70
October 24, 2026444.63444.69
October 23, 2026444.67444.68
October 22, 2026444.68444.67
October 21, 2026444.76444.66
DateLevel (ft)Normal (ft)
October 20, 2026444.79444.66
October 19, 2026444.65444.66
October 18, 2026444.79444.71
October 17, 2026444.91444.70
October 16, 2026444.97444.65
October 15, 2026444.93444.66
October 14, 2026444.90444.68
October 13, 2026444.80444.71
October 12, 2026444.79444.69
October 11, 2026444.89444.68
October 10, 2026444.91444.68
October 9, 2026444.79444.67
October 8, 2026444.75444.66
October 7, 2026444.63444.66
October 6, 2026444.67444.65

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 444.29 ft.

Typical Old Hickory Lake level by month since 2016
MonthLow year (10th %)MedianHigh year (90th %)Days above your mark
January 444.21 444.77 445.34 —
February 444.21 444.79 445.55 —
March 444.15 444.78 445.37 —
April 444.23 444.77 445.25 —
May 444.30 444.79 445.21 —
June 444.42 444.80 445.29 —
July 444.49 444.86 445.25 —
August 444.39 444.71 445.09 —
September 444.42 444.70 445.08 —
October 444.32 444.73 445.13 —
November 443.91 444.63 445.11 —
December 444.28 444.79 445.40 —

Other Tennessee lakes, lowest first

Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake
Tennessee lakes ranked by how full they are
Lake Level (ft) Vs full pool For the date
Cheatham Lake 385.38 At pool About normal
Dale Hollow Lake 638.25 12.8 ft below About normal
Kentucky Lake 354.68 At pool About normal
Lake Barkley 354.75 4.3 ft below About normal
Center Hill Lake 630.38 17.6 ft below About normal
Cordell Hull Lake 502.30 At pool Higher than usual
J. Percy Priest Lake 489.29 2.0 ft above Higher than usual

All 8 Tennessee lakes →

Old Hickory questions

What is full pool at Old Hickory Lake?

Full pool at Old Hickory Lake is 445.00 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of power.”

Is Old Hickory Lake full right now?

No. It is 0.7 ft below full pool.

Is Old Hickory Lake lower than normal for early November?

Yes. The median level on Nov 4 across 1996–2025 is 444.73 ft, and today's 444.29 ft is −0.44 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 444.46 and 444.94 ft.

How does Old Hickory Lake compare with last year?

A year ago, on November 4, 2025, it stood at 444.91 ft. It is 0.62 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 450.70 ft on May 4, 2010 and the lowest was 442.74 ft on November 13, 2023.

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 13:52:28 UTC. Readings are provisional and can be revised by the agency.