Lake Level BlogLake Level Projections

Lake Level Projections – April 2024

By March 28, 2024

The latest lake level projections are shown below.  You will also find:

  • Links to historical lake level plots
  • Last month’s projections compared to what actually happened

Spring rains have helped TRWD system storage remain above 90% (currently at 93%) thanks to rains that mainly fell over our East Texas system (Cedar Creek and Richland-Chambers). Even though the West Fork System (Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport) did not receive as much rain as East Texas, the lakes went up, gaining about 3% of overall storage (currently at 64%).  TRWD’s Meteorologist, Courtney Jalbert, provides discussion on what we can expect in terms of rainfall impacting lake levels in the “From our Meteorologist” section.

Thank you for following the Lake Level Blog and check back next month about this time for more projections.


From our Meteorologist

March Summary…

March of 2024 has been slightly warmer and wetter than normal.  Temperatures for the month of March have been 3 to 5 degrees above normal.  Early March started out warm with two days reaching highs in the low 80s, which was about 20 degrees above normal, but the rest of the month was pleasant and remained closer to normal.  Spring rains have been generous so far with a total of 5.66” at DFW airport, which is almost 3” above normal. TRWD’s Eagle Mountain Lake isn’t far behind with a total of 5.40” in March. See the past 30 days rainfall totals below.

TRWD Lake Rainfall Totals though March 26, 2024

The rainfall North Texas received in the past few months has helped the region see major improvements in drought intensity and only a few small areas of D0 (Abnormally Dry) remain.

Looking ahead…

Models indicate typical springtime patterns will continue with upper-level systems and their trailing cold fronts passing through in early April bringing a higher chance of rain, as indicated in the Climate Prediction Center 8-14 Day Outlook. In the Pacific Ocean, a transition from El Nino to neutral (neither El Niño nor La Niña) is slowly underway.  Because of this transition, the precipitation forecast becomes more challenging in the extended spring/early summer 2024 outlook where North Texas sits between an expected above normal probability of precipitation to the east and below normal probability of precipitation to the west.

Projections

Lake Bridgeport

Last Month’s Projection

Historical Lake Levels

Eagle Mountain Lake

Last Month’s Projection

Historical Lake Levels

Cedar Creek Lake

Last Month’s Projection

Historical Lake Levels

Richland-Chambers Lake

Last Month’s Projection

Historical Lake Levels

Lake Current Level Conservation Level* Level Difference**
Arlington 545.90 550.00 -4.10
Benbrook 688.69 694.00 -5.31
Bridgeport 827.62 836.00 -8.38
Cedar Creek 318.17 322.00 -3.83
Eagle Mountain 644.21 649.10 -4.89
Lake Worth 591.33 594.00 -2.67
Richland-Chambers 312.81 315.00 -2.19
*Conservation Level: The permitted level of water an entity is allowed to hold in a lake. Any amount above the conservation level is used for the temporary storage of flood waters and must be released downstream.
**Difference: Amount above or below conservation level.
For more information read our daily reports or the TRWD Lake Level Blog.

Check out the TRWD OneRain portal for a visualization of this information and more.

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