Following years of drought, the lake hit an all-time low — 17.69 feet below normal — in March 2015 at 696.31 feet.
Late Saturday, the lake rose to nearly 718 feet and started releasing water by thousands of cubic feet for the first time in recent memory.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a video of the scene below the dam Monday, clearly showing strong flow and water levels sloshing up onto structures, high into trees and over vegetation that has not seen water for some time.
“We have to, by law, get the lake back down to normal levels as quickly as possible,” said Brannen Parrish, a spokesman for the Corps of Engineers’ Tulsa District.
Birch Lake also is more than 4 feet above normal and was releasing about 950 cubic feet per second Monday, Parrish said.
The added flow in Bird Creek likely won’t be too noticeable.
The channel capacity in the creek in 11,000 cfs.
Other lakes and rivers with significant flow after the weekend rains include the Grand River system, where Fort Gibson Lake, most notably, was releasing 60,000 cfs on Monday with an expected increase to 75,000 forecast for Tuesday morning.
Most of the lakes in eastern Oklahoma were below normal levels in recent weeks.
Lake Tenkiller was below normal for weeks but rose to 2 feet above normal on Saturday afternoon.

However, the heaviest downpours were confined to eastern areas least affected by drought and least at risk of wildfires.
One rain gauge in Palm Beach County measured 2.81 inches of precipitation for the 24 hours that ended at 7 a.m. Monday, the South Florida Water Management District said.
Other readings from gauges in eastern and central parts of the county included 2.7, 2.64 and 2.61 inches.
“We did have some significant rainfall in Palm Beach County,” said Randy Smith, spokesman at the Water Management District.
“There are still rainfall deficits, but the timing was critical.” Even after a wet weekend, much of the region remains 7 inches to 9 inches below typical dry-season rainfall totals, Smith said.
Inland parts of Palm Beach County are in “moderate drought” or “severe drought.” In contrast to the deluge on the coast, Belle Glade, Pahokee and nearby areas received only a few drops of rain on Sunday.
The South Florida Water Management District on April 13 issued a water shortage order, a warning that mandatory cuts might be next.
Rick Scott said a 5,500-acre wildfire in Collier County was 50 percent contained.
However, Zierden noted that the heaviest rainfall hit coastal areas, not the regions with the greatest risk of wildfires.
For the period from Oct. 1 through April 12, a rain gauge at Palm Beach International Airport showed just 13.91 inches of rain, 11.62 inches below normal dry-season rainfall, the National Weather Service said.

Level 2 drought restrictions in place for DeKalb.
The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management is reminding DeKalb residents and businesses that, despite recent rainfall, the county is still under a Level 2 drought status.
During a Level 2 drought, outdoor watering of lawns, gardens and trees is limited to a maximum of twice a week on an odd/even schedule.
Even addresses and sites with no numbered address may water Wednesdays and Saturdays before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m., while those with odd-numbered addresses may water on Thursdays and Sundays before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
In addition to mandatory restrictions, the department asks customers to water only as needed, when plants show signs of distress, such as curling, wilting and graying foliage.
Replace water intensive landscape with drought resistant plants.
The department, as the water supplier, is required by the state’s Environmental Protection Division to enforce drought requirements.
Enforcement actions are now being implemented for repeat or significant violations found that can include monetary penalties as well as termination of water service, as warranted.
For more information on water restrictions in DeKalb, visit www.dekalbwatershed.com.

Firefighters across Florida battle drought-fueled wildfires.
Autoplay:x NAPLES, Florida – Dozens of firefighters have spent Monday on the lookout for hot spots, after a fast moving wildfire burned through the Golden Gate Estates area over the weekend.
Around 7,000 homes had to be evacuated when flames raced towards more densely populated streets.
Firefighters say when they first started attacking the fire on Thursday the flames leapt to a height of more than 100 feet.
This is an intense beginning to what is being described as the worst and most active fire season in Florida in years.
Severe drought is making deceptively green trees bone dry and ripe for fire.
Joe Zwierzchowski is a spokesman for the Florida Forest Service.
Zwierzchowski said firefighters had to aggressively attack the fire to save homes.
Zwierzchowski says Florida’s fire season technically is 12 months per year, but it reaches its height between April and June.
Copyright 2017 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Climate change predicted to increase Nile flow variability.
Being able to predict the amount of flow variability, and even to forecast likely years of reduced flow, will become ever more important as the population of the Nile River basin, primarily in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 1 billion.
The new study, based on a variety of global climate models and records of rainfall and flow rates over the last half-century, projects an increase of 50 percent in the amount of flow variation from year to year.
Originally, the correlation he showed between the El Niño/La Niña cycle and Ethiopian rainfall had been aimed at helping with seasonal and short-term predictions of the river’s flow, for planning storage and releases from the river’s many dams and reservoirs.
While there has been controversy about that dam, and especially about how the filling of its reservoir will be coordinated with downstream nations, Eltahir says this study points to the importance of focusing on the potential impacts of climate change and rapid population growth as the most significant drivers of environmental change in the Nile basin.
"Climate change predicted to increase Nile flow variability: Climate change could lead to overall increase in river flow, but more droughts and floods, study shows."
ScienceDaily, 24 April 2017.
Climate change predicted to increase Nile flow variability: Climate change could lead to overall increase in river flow, but more droughts and floods, study shows.
Retrieved April 24, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170424141236.htm Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"Climate change predicted to increase Nile flow variability: Climate change could lead to overall increase in river flow, but more droughts and floods, study shows."

When deciding what crops to grow during a season, growers look at several factors.
But, extension agronomist Stephen Kaffka, and his team at UC Davis, including project scientist Nic George, explored growing cool season crops in the same areas.
Kaffka’s team looked at growing canola and camelina.
There are many new varieties of canola and camelina.
Most camelina varieties are new to cultivation in the United States.
Why did Kaffka’s team decide to research oilseed crops?
"California’s climate is similar to southern Australia, where cool-season crops are grown primarily on natural rainfall in winter," say Kaffka and George.
Canola varieties developed for Australia have shorter growing season than most commercially available spring-type canola varieties grown in the rest of North America.
The researchers also carefully recorded variables about the fields and seasonal growing conditions, like the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the amount of rainfall that year, and how much irrigation was used.
Canola and Camelina as New Crop Options for Cool-Season Production in California.

Low snowpacks of 2014, 2015 may become increasingly common with warmer conditions.
Oregon experienced very low snowpack levels in 2014 and historically low snowpack levels in 2015; now a new study suggests that these occurrences may not be anomalous in the future and could become much more common if average temperatures warm just two degrees (Celsius).
The low snowpack levels were linked to warmer temperatures and not a lack of precipitation, the researchers say.
Based on simulations of previous and predicted snowpack, the study suggests that by mid-century, years like 2015 may happen about once a decade, while snowpack levels similar to 2014 will take place every 4-5 years.
A fair amount of precipitation still fell — 78 percent of normal — but temperatures in the snow zone were 3.3 degrees (C), or 5.9 degrees (F) warmer than average.
As much as 60 to 80 percent of the volume of the Willamette River in the summer originates from precipitation that fell above 4,000 feet.
"The study shows how incredibly sensitive the region’s snowpack is to increasing temperatures," Sproles said.
The typically consistent flow of the McKenzie River in the summer of 2015 was only at 63 percent of its median flow.
"We don’t really know yet the impact of the 2015 low snowpack because some of the water takes as long as seven years to percolate through the ground and end up in the Willamette River," Sproles said.
"It seems like much of the state has been socked with snow and ice this winter," Sproles said, "but despite that, snowpack for the Sandy and Hood River basins is only 110 percent of normal and the Willamette basin snowpack is 124 percent of normal.

Somalia drought fuelling piracy – US Africa command head.
General Thomas Waldhauser, head of US Africa Command, said there had been half a dozen attacks in the last month.
About three million Somalis face food insecurity and a national disaster was declared last month.
Piracy was rampant off the Somali coast until increased patrols by European naval forces contained the problem.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed concerns about the resurgence of Somali piracy during a visit to the American military base in Djibouti.
Mr Mattis suggested commercial vessels should consider stepping up onboard security to guard against attacks at sea, saying the situation is being monitored but there was no plan of an immediate response.
"We’re not ready to say there is a trend there yet but we’ll continue to watch."
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Exit player Last month, an oil tanker was hijacked by suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, the first such hijacking in the region in five years.
The vessel was en route from Djibouti to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and was then diverted towards the port of Alula in the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland.

Somali Pirates Being Driven Back to the Seas By Drought and Famine: U.S.
Pirates in Somalia are being driven to the seas by a devastating drought, says the top U.S. military commander in Africa.
General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said food shortages in Somalia were contributing to the resurgence in piracy.
Moreover, these particular ships have been very small in statute and really a lucrative target for pirates,” said Waldhauser at a briefing with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, which neighbors Somalia.
More than 6 million people require humanitarian assistance, with 2.9 million living in areas that are at heightened risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
Somali pirates hijacked a Comoros-flagged vessel carrying fuel in early March, the first time that pirates had taken control of a commercial ship in the region since 2012.
But since then, pirates have successfully hijacked at least another four vessels off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, a channel that experiences a high volume of commercial maritime traffic.
Pirates have launched a spate of attacks off the coast of Somalia in recent months.
The AFRICOM commander also urged civilian shipping companies to increase security measures in order to deter pirates from trying to launch attacks.
President Donald Trump recent authorized a Pentagon request granting additional authorities for U.S. airstrikes in Somalia, The U.S. has launched at least 42 strikes in Somalia in the past decade, killing at least 300 people, most of whom the Pentagon has claimed were militants but a fraction of whom were reportedly civilians, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Vijay Singh ends long victory drought with help from partner Carlos Franco.
FacebookPinterest Vijay Singh once had been among the game’s most prolific winners, his resume including 34 PGA Tour victories, another nine on the European Tour and five on the Asian Tour.
Then he tapped out.
Singh, 54, won the Deutsche Bank Championship in the fall of 2008 and followed with 178 straight tournaments without a victory, 166 of them on the PGA Tour, 12 on the PGA Tour Champions.
But on Sunday, in the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo., of all places, he found what he was missing: Carlos Franco.
Franco, a Paraguayan with four PGA Tour victories, holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the final hole to give him and Singh a victory in the PGA Tour Champions team event.
The pair posted a 12-under 42 on the Top of the Rock par-3 course and finished at 15-under in the the event shortened by inclement weather to 36 holes.
The teams of Paul Goydos/Kevin Sutherland, Corey Pavin/Duffy Waldorf, and Fred Funk/Jeff Sluman tied for second a stroke behind.
A day earlier, Allen Doyle and Hubert Green won the Legends Division for players 65 and older.