Lake Mead Water Level

2026-10-15: 1,037.53 ft — the 3rd-lowest elevation for this calendar date in 92 years of daily record (back to Hoover Dam's first fill in 1935).

Elevation

1,037.53 ft

−0.08 ft in 7 d

Vs. one year ago

−20.18 ft

same date last year

Vs. yesterday

−0.01 ft

24-hour change

Release

7,480 cfs

USBR's Mead feed has no inflow series, so net flow can't be computed · 2026-10-16

Shortage rules: 2026 and 2027

Lake Mead enters 2027 under a single, flat shortage. Interior's 2027–2028 Operating Guidelines apportion 6.25 million acre-feet (maf) a year to Arizona, California and Nevada, 1.25 maf less than a normal year. Under a Lower Basin implementing agreement, Arizona's share falls by 760,000 acre-feet, California's by 440,000 and Nevada's by 50,000; without one, the Secretary sets the split (§5.3.A). The guidelines also call for Lower Basin water users to conserve an extra 700,000 acre-feet in total across 2026–2028 through voluntary agreements (§5.3.B). Reductions in deliveries to Mexico are set separately under the 1944 Water Treaty (§5.6); USBR's September study applies IBWC Minute 334.

In 2026 the 2007 Interim Guidelines still apply: Mead's projected January 1, 2026 elevation fell between 1,075 and 1,050 ft, a Level 1 shortage (USBR 24-Month Study, September 2026, p. 2). That tier system, in which the January 1 projection picked Level 1, 2 or 3, ends on December 31, 2026.

Elevation	What the 2027–2028 guidelines do there
1,010 ft	Consultation trigger. If any Most Probable 24-Month Study shows Mead falling below 1,010 ft within the next 12 months, Interior must consult the Basin States and Tribes (§5.3.A.4).
1,000 ft	If Mead is below 1,000 ft on January 1, no Intentionally Created Surplus (banked conservation water) can be delivered that year (§5.4.B.6).
950 ft	Below it, releases can use only the upper outlet works, and Hoover Dam can no longer produce hydropower (§5.3).

USBR's October 2026 Most Probable studies put Mead's lowest point in the next 12 months at 1,015.68 ft (7.0 maf Powell release run, May 2027) and 1,007.73 ft (6.0 maf Powell release run, July 2027); one of them dips below the 1,010 ft consultation line.

The guidelines were issued under the August 2026 Record of Decision, a framework for 2027–2036 under which Interior expects to issue operating guidelines in two-year sets (ROD §2). The seven Basin States did not reach a consensus agreement (ROD §1). Nevada sued Interior over the decision on August 24, 2026 (The Nevada Independent).

Weather at the lake

Now / forecast · Boulder Basin

67°F

today 90° / 67° · tmrw 85° / 66°
Open-Meteo model forecast, fetched at build

Latest observed · Las Vegas (Harry Reid Intl)

114° / 94°

high / low on 2026-07-24 · NOAA GHCN station USW00023169 (~35 mi west of the lake; the lakeside stations (Callville Bay, Boulder City) stopped reporting in 2011/2004)

Storage

6.81 maf

as of 2026-10-15

Where it's headed: USBR projections

USBR 24-Month Study end-of-month elevation scenarios: separate model runs with different hydrologic and release assumptions, not a statistical range. The two Most Probable runs assume a 7.0 or 6.0 maf release from Lake Powell in water year 2027. Dashed lines: 2007 shortage tiers through December 2026, then the 2027–2028 guidelines' consultation trigger.

Month	Most Probable, 7.0 maf (Oct 2026)	Most Probable, 6.0 maf (Oct 2026)	Maximum Probable, 11.5 maf (Oct 2026)	Minimum Probable, 6.0 maf (Oct 2026)
2026-11	1,033.97	1,033.97	1,034.57	1,033.45
2026-12	1,034.52	1,034.52	1,035.36	1,034.15
2027-01	1,034.33	1,034.33	1,035.54	1,033.82
2027-02	1,033.64	1,033.64	1,035	1,033.17
2027-03	1,027.24	1,027.24	1,029.71	1,026.16
2027-04	1,019.35	1,019.35	1,023.21	1,017.48
2027-05	1,015.68	1,012.87	1,020.67	1,010.21
2027-06	1,015.85	1,008.47	1,021.41	1,005.04
2027-07	1,018.43	1,007.73	1,024.38	1,003.87
2027-08	1,024.02	1,010.01	1,030.49	1,005.88
2027-09	1,025.86	1,010.85	1,032.71	1,006.43
2027-10	1,026.87	1,011.99	1,036.83	1,005.97

Projected end-of-month elevations (ft), next 12 months, from the USBR 24-Month Study (Lower Colorado studies page). Minimum/maximum-probable runs are published only some months, so their issue dates can differ from the most-probable runs.

Last five years

Daily pool elevation, USBR. Dashed lines are source-verified operating thresholds, each drawn only for the dates its rule was in force.

Full record, 1935–present

Monthly mean elevation since Hoover Dam closure — 90+ years of daily data, computed from USBR records.

Boat access

Launch point	Basin	Official NPS status
Hemenway Harbor	Boulder Basin	Operable with delays (NPS status page, updated 2025-05-29); ramp-extension construction from June 2025 causes launch delays
South Cove	Gregg Basin	Open via 0.5-mile gravel road off the concrete ramp; 'the concrete launch ramp itself is out of the water due to currently low lake levels' (NPS listing)
Callville Bay	Boulder Basin	Marina services operate; see NPS for current launch status
Echo Bay	Overton Arm	Primitive visitor access per the low-water access plan; see NPS for current launch status
Temple Bar	Temple Basin	Marina services operate; see NPS for current launch status
Boulder Harbor	Boulder Basin	Closed to launching and retrieval due to low water levels (NPS place page)

NPS's Sustainable Low Water Access Plan (finding issued 2023-11-16) focuses boat launching at Hemenway Harbor, Callville Bay, Echo Bay, Temple Bar and South Cove, with the stated goal of maintaining 'recreational motorboat access in the event water declines to 950 feet.' Statuses snapshotted 2026-07-28 from NPS Lake Mead NRA. Unlike Glen Canyon, NPS publishes no per-ramp minimum elevations for Lake Mead, so we show official status only — always check NPS before towing a boat out.

Records

Definition	Elevation (ft)	Date
full-series daily min	670	1935-02-02
full-series daily max	1,225.83	1983-07-24
since-2000 daily min	1,037.53	2026-10-15
since-2000 daily max	1,214.41	2000-02-06

Every record states its definition; full-series extremes include the 1935–1941 initial fill. See methodology.