Friday, January 08, 2016

2015 Update - Multi-Year Levels and Discharge Analysis


2015 was a record year for the lake of the Ozarks.  Two major flooding events and a no-wake executive order from the Governor were just some of the highlights.  Here is the full analysis of operations at the lake of the Ozarks, now with 2015 data included.

Lake of the Ozarks Climate Summary - 2015

Lake Ozark Climate Summary 2015

Bagnell Dam Total Flow - 2015


Corrected.

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

2015 Annual Lake Levels and Discharge Chart

It was a historic year for Lake of the Ozarks when it comes to lake levels and flow.  Two flooding events, one in July, the other in December, pushed the lake to levels not seen in decades.  The difference between the lowest level of the year and the highest was over 10ft!

Even from just the thumbnail image below, we can see the standout times when levels and flow were at their extremes.


Click here for the original drawing to see details.

Here are some highlights of the numbers.

Highest lake level:  663.83 on December 28th, at 6pm
Lowest lake level: 653.74 on March 5th.
Average lake level for the year: 658.38
Average Summer level: 659.35

Maximum Discharge: 104,617.10 cubic feet per second(cfs) on December 28th at 6pm, representing half of the dams flood control capacity.  This is nearly 3 times the maximum flow of 2014.

Total outflow from the Lake in 2015: approximately 462 billion cubic feet, or three and a half TRILLION gallons, flowing from the lake into the Osage River over the course of 365 days.