Water Levels

[CowTimes]

Way too early to be concerned about the lake level in my view, for a few reasons. The lake is exactly at average level for this time of year (https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files...-graph2021.jpg). And while we seem to be a little dry based on the same chart (about 3 inches below average year-to-date precipitation for this time of year), the NOAA long-range forecast has us with likely above-average rain for the next couple weeks and normal precipitation in the longer 3-month term. Considering April is generally a pretty wet month and rain is already forecast for next week (plus the “above-average” NOAA predictions), I think we’ll be in good shape.

The lake is only 7 inches below full lake level, which is right where it is on average this time of year. In the spring where the ground is still fairly saturated, it only takes 1 inch of rain to raise the lake 5 inches (per NH DES watershed website), which is part of the reason the lake increases so much in April/early May every year. Remember, ice-out was early this year, so it shouldn’t be surprising that folks think the lake seems low for boating season—it is, but that’s normal for early April.

If you look at the DES chart, the lowest the lake has ever been on May 1 (the data goes back to 1982), was 503.5 (so about 10 inches below full lake). We’re 3 inches above that now. We’re not so unseasonably dry to think that the lake will be anything other than around full the normal time of year by mid-May/June 1.