Lake Shasta, California’s Largest Reservoir, Tops Out at 93% of Capacity

SnowBrains |
image: kcra
image: kcra

Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, just topped out at 93% of capacity.  

California’s 2nd largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, is still rising.

The amount of water in Lake Shasta, CA over the past 6 months.  image:  ncrs, today
The amount of water in Lake Shasta, CA over the past 6 months. image: dwr, today

Lake Shasta Right Now:

  • 4,552,100 acre feet of water storage
  • 5,628 cfs inflow
  • 5,164 cfs outflow
Shasta looking very full today. image: caltrans, today
Shasta looking very full today. image: caltrans, today

“Lake Shasta is topping out???…

This is the time of year that our big reservoirs reach their highest levels of the year. They stay in the same range for a while as inflows and outflows are pretty balanced. Over the next few weeks, the inflows from snowmelt will decrease and our reservoirs will drop until the next rain season begins.

For Shasta, it looks like the maximum level was reached last week. On May 2, the highest level was 1056.2′. Today it was 1055.8′. That’s only a drop of a few inches but it’s a sign that the lake is as full as it’s going to get this year.

This level is 93% of capacity. While the lake didn’t fill to the brim, it’s about 60 feet higher than the maximum level from last year.

Oroville and Folsom are still rising but will likely see their highest levels in the next few weeks.” – Mark Finan, KCRA today

California reservoir levels as of May 8th, 2016. image: nrcs, today
California reservoir levels as of May 8th, 2016. image: nrcs, today
Stock image of a full Lake Shasta, CA. image: summitretreat.com
Stock image of a full Lake Shasta, CA. image: summitretreat.com

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