Lake levels and wind, checked before you launch.

Lake levels today, with the conditions that go with them

Lakeglance tracks lake levels for 2,915 lakes and reservoirs across the United States and Puerto Rico. Every lake has its own page with today's water level, how it has moved over the past week and month, the wind forecast for the water itself, and a plain call on whether the day suits sailing, paddling, power boating or fishing. Search for a lake by name, browse the directory above by state, or open the map to see what is close to you.

Most lake level sites stop at a number. On its own, a number does not tell you whether the ramp at your end of the lake is usable, or whether an afternoon breeze will turn a glassy morning into whitecaps. Lakeglance puts the lake level beside the lake conditions you actually plan around, so one page answers the question you opened it for.

Where the lake water levels come from

Water levels on Lakeglance come from three public sources, used in this order for each lake:

• U.S. Geological Survey gauges. USGS publishes readings from lake and reservoir gauges every 15 to 60 minutes. A gauge is only attached to a lake when it measures that lake, not a river below the dam or a different lake with the same name.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps runs the big flood-control and navigation reservoirs and reports their pool elevation, usually every hour. 238 of the lakes here use a Corps reading, many of them in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.
• NASA's SWOT satellite. For 1,853 lakes with no public gauge, the level comes from orbit. SWOT measures the lake surface every 10 to 21 days, usually to within half a foot, so you can still see whether the lake is rising or falling.

In all, 773 lakes have a live gauge. Every reading on the site carries the time it was taken, and gauge levels refresh straight from the agency each time you open a page, so the number you see is the newest one published rather than a copy from last week.

Lake levels and reservoir levels by state

Searches for lake levels are usually local, and so is the water. Texas lake levels rise fast after heavy rain and drop through long, hot summers; the Texas page covers 166 lakes and reservoirs, from Lake Travis and Lake Texoma to dozens of Corps reservoirs. Oklahoma lake levels are dominated by Corps of Engineers lakes such as Eufaula and Grand Lake o' the Cherokees, with 50 lakes on the Oklahoma page. California reservoir levels swing with snowpack and drought, from Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville to Folsom Lake and New Melones Lake, across 141 lakes.

In the Tennessee Valley, lakes such as Kentucky Lake, Norris Lake and Watts Bar Lake follow a yearly cycle of filling in spring and drawing down in fall, which the Tennessee page tracks month by month. Further north, Minnesota alone has 307 lakes here, from Mille Lacs Lake to small lakes in lake country that rarely appear on any other conditions site. Each state page opens with a table of today's lake levels for its gauged lakes, with the change over seven days and whether each lake is above or below normal for the month.

How to read a lake level

A lake level is the height of the water surface, usually in feet above sea level. On a reservoir, the number that matters is the gap between today's level and full pool, the elevation the operator aims to hold through the summer. A few feet below full pool can leave courtesy docks sitting on mud and bring stumps and sandbars close to the surface; a few feet above it can flood ramps, beaches and campgrounds. Natural lakes move more slowly, but a wet spring or a dry August still shows up.

Where a gauge has years of history, Lakeglance compares today's reading with the normal range for the same month, so you can see at a glance whether the lake is high, low or about where it usually sits at this time of year. Some gauges report gage height against a local marker rather than sea level, and those pages say so, because that number cannot be compared with a ramp elevation. The glossary explains full pool, drawdown, gauge datum and the other terms in plain English.

Lake conditions: wind, gusts and storms on the water

The water level decides whether you can launch. The wind decides whether you should. Lakeglance reads the National Weather Service forecast for the grid cell over each lake rather than the nearest airport, so the lake wind forecast describes open water. Each lake page shows sustained wind and gusts in knots or miles per hour, hour by hour for today and day by day for the week ahead, along with temperature, rain and the chance of thunderstorms.

Live NOAA weather radar sits on every lake page, with a line that tells you how far away the nearest rain is and in which direction, which is often the quickest way to decide whether to head in.

Is it a good day on the lake?

Different boats tolerate very different wind. A kayak or paddleboard is comfortable up to about 8 knots, a small sailboat is happy into the mid teens, and a bass boat crossing a big reservoir cares most about gusts and the chop they build over open water. Lakeglance scores every hour of the forecast separately for sailing, kayak and SUP, power boating and fishing, and treats a thunderstorm as a reason for everyone to stay off the water. The result is a plain Good, Use caution or Stay ashore for right now, plus the best window today and the best day of the week. How the scores work lists every limit we use.

How to check lake levels and conditions in under a minute

1. Search for the lake by name, or tap Near me to list the closest lakes.
2. Read the call at the top of the lake page for your activity, then the water level card for today's level and its trend.
3. Open the water level page for the 30-day chart and daily readings, or the forecast page to find the calmest day this week.
4. Tap Save as my lake, and the home page will show its wind and call the next time you visit.

Lakeglance is free, needs no account or app, and works on any phone. The numbers are for planning rather than a safety guarantee, so always check posted rules and official warnings before you head out.