Questions and answers

A free site that shows wind, gusts, weather and water level for 2,915 lakes and reservoirs in the United States and Puerto Rico, and turns them into a simple call for sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding, power boating and fishing.

No. Every page works in any modern browser on a phone or computer. You can add Lakeglance to your home screen from the browser menu if you want it one tap away.

Use the search box at the top of any page and type the lake name or the state. You can also press the slash key on a keyboard to open search, browse by state from the home page, or tap "Near me" to list the closest lakes.

Conditions gives you the current wind and a go or no-go call for each activity. Water level covers the USGS reading, trend and how it compares with normal. Wind forecast shows a 7-day outlook and hour-by-hour wind for the next three days.

From the National Weather Service gridded forecast, the same 2.5 km forecast local NWS offices publish. We read the grid cell over each lake, convert wind to knots and temperature to Fahrenheit, and do not alter the values.

From U.S. Geological Survey gauges. 773 of the lakes we cover have a gauge we can read. Readings are provisional when first published and can be revised by USGS later.

Each page fetches the latest forecast and gauge reading when you open it, and keeps it for 15 minutes while you move between tabs. The pages themselves are rebuilt every day with fresh daily water levels and forecast summaries.

For gauged lakes we take every monthly average USGS has on record for that gauge and find the low, typical (median) and high value for each calendar month. Today's reading is compared with that range. It is a better guide than a single full pool number on reservoirs that are raised and lowered by season.

Many lakes are only measured by a dam operator, lake association or a staff gauge on a dock, and those readings are not published in a form we can read. The water level page lists the closest lakes that do have live readings. If you know a public source for your lake, email us.

Most weather apps show the forecast for the nearest town or airport and often use a single global model. We use the National Weather Service grid cell over the water, which can be windier than a sheltered town nearby.

Treat it as a first check, not a decision. It cannot see your boat, your experience, the water temperature at your launch, local wind shadows or posted rules. Always look at the conditions yourself before launching, wear a life jacket, and follow park and operator rules.

We start flagging paddling at about 8 kt of sustained wind or 12 kt gusts, and suggest staying ashore above 12 kt sustained or 18 kt gusts. Offshore wind, blowing from the shore out across the lake, is the most dangerous direction.

The forecast includes thunderstorm risk, which sets every activity to stay ashore. For official watches, warnings and advisories, check weather.gov for your area or a NOAA Weather Radio.

Yes. The embed page builds a small live widget for any lake. Copy one line of code into your site; there is no account and no charge.

Email [email protected] with the lake name and what looks wrong. We check every report.

No. We are an independent site that uses their public data. Neither agency endorses Lakeglance.