Norfork Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District). Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
0.74 feet below full pool
−0.74 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Falling
- 7-day change
- Down 0.45 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 1.25 ft
- Last updated
- 1 hour ago
Norfork Lake is currently 0.74 feet below full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week. Readings show continued drawdown relative to full pool, with levels trending lower over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Baxter County, AR · surrounding county from lake location
Abnormally Dry
The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.
Severity
Weekly trend
Improving
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
6.4% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 15, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Baxter County, AR
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Winter pool
Flood stage
Datum
Current-level source
Project / NID identifier
Dam / watershed (NID design values)
Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.
- Normal storage
- 31,000 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 1.98M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 22,000 acres
- Drainage area
- 1,806 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 331,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Concrete · 248 ft high · completed 1944
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Jun 5, 2024 · EAP yes
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Norfork Dam (AR00159)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Hydroelectric, Recreation, Water Supply.
Why the level can change
General factors for reservoirs like this
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Rainfall & inflows
Rain and upstream river inflows can raise reservoir levels, especially after storms.
Downstream releases
When an operator releases water through a dam, reservoir storage can fall and downstream flows can rise.
Flood-risk operations
Some projects store or release water under flood-risk rules when conditions require it.
Water supply
Some reservoirs support municipal, industrial, irrigation, or regional water-supply needs.
Hydropower
Hydropower projects may pass water through turbines when generating electricity.
Seasonal weather
Dry periods, heat, evaporation, and seasonal rainfall patterns can affect storage over weeks and months.
Published reference elevations
- Full pool
- 554.00 ft
- Winter / seasonal pool
- 554.00 ft
- Flood stage
- 580.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
A winter / seasonal pool elevation is published, but Lake Insights does not have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
Flood stage is not interchangeable with flood pool.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District)
Observation source used by Lake Insights: NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
General education
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Norfork Lake
- Who manages Norfork Lake?
- Norfork Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District). Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Norfork Lake?
- The published full-pool elevation for Norfork Lake is 554.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Does Norfork Lake have a published winter pool?
- Norfork Lake has a published winter / seasonal pool elevation of 554.00 ft. Lake Insights does not currently have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Norfork Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Norfork Lake from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Little Rock District)) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Norfork Lake?
- Elevations for Norfork Lake are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Norfork Lake?
- Documented purposes for Norfork Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Hydroelectric, Recreation, Water Supply.