How warm is Kootenay Lake right now?

No public agency operates a real-time water-temperature gauge on Kootenay Lake. No public agency operates a real-time water-temperature gauge on Kootenay Lake. The Water Survey of Canada's own real-time data disclaimer for this gauge states plainly: "Official data Products are Water Level and Discharge" — temperature is not one of them.

The gauge this site reads at Queens Bay, station 08NH064, measures water level every five minutes; it does not measure temperature. The Water Survey of Canada real-time gauge the lake-level page reads from; verified against the province's hydrometric station record.

The nearest readings this page has are air temperature, not water temperature. Nelson is 24.4°C, measured at NELSON CS (6 min ago). Creston is 25.3°C, measured at CRESTON CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC (6 min ago). Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Verified on 2026-09-22 against the Water Survey’s real-time data disclaimer for this gauge.

The ILEC World Lake Database's 1986 record of surface (1 m depth) water temperature at Cape Horn shows: Mar 4.6°C, Apr 4.5°C, May 12.5°C, Jun 16.2°C, Jul 14.5°C, Aug 18.0°C (the year's peak), Sep 15.3°C, Oct 11.7°C, Nov 9.2°C, with no reading published for Jan, Feb or Dec. The same record lists the lake's freezing period as "None."

Verified on 2026-09-22 against the ILEC World Lake Database record.

The 1986 ILEC record above shows August as the warmest month at the surface, at 18.0°C. Public beaches sit at several communities around the lake; a dedicated guide to them is planned for a later phase of this site.

Kootenay Lake does not freeze over. ILEC's own field for this is "Freezing period: None." Large, deep lakes are generally slow to freeze because they hold more heat through winter, and Wikipedia’s Kootenay Lake entry lists this one as up to 150 m deep.

Verified on 2026-09-22 against the ILEC World Lake Database record. Depth verified 2026-09-22 against Wikipedia.