Lake Berryessa's spillway fully active after Northern California atmospheric river
LAKE BERRYESSA – In what has become a much-anticipated sight, the morning glory spillway at Lake Berryessa is now active after this week's storms.
After an extended dry spell that started off 2025, Northern California was hit by an atmospheric river that dumped a deluge of precipitation on the region.
Lake Berryessa, a manmade reservoir in Napa County created by the Monticello Dam, has been hovering at a 436' water surface level since the beginning of the year. The lake spills at the 440' mark thanks to a gravity-fed piece of engineering that helps prevent the dam from overtopping.
This spillway has become affectionately known by Northern Californians as the "Glory Hole."
As Northern California was hit by significant precipitation on Tuesday, social media pages that monitor the lake started to take notice that the surface elevation was starting to spike. By Tuesday evening, the lake level had crossed over the 440' mark.
By Wednesday, the lake level had increased to 441.39 – meaning the spillway was fully active.
The spillway was last active in 2024, but that event didn't appear to be as dramatic with water just starting to splash into the drain.
California's extended drought conditions have also meant the spillway was dormant for some time, like from 2006 to 2017.
