Weiss Lake, which reached record lows during the summer and fall, is on the rise as winter rains have pushed the water level higher.

On Friday, after heavy rains, the lake was 560.81 feet above sea level, compared with 557 feet in October. Alabama Power Co., which usually draws the lake down to 558 feet during the winter months, will leave the lake higher than normal to give it a head-start on refilling Weiss in the spring.

Weiss Lake is part of Alabama Power’s reservoir system, which has been hard hit by the drought that is expected to continue this year.

Alabama Power spokesman Buddy Eiland said the utility got permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to keep lake levels higher than normal this winter.

“We’ve seen some water coming into the system and more rain is forecast. It’s not going to get us back to normal but we’re in better shape,” Eiland said. “We’ve been saying, if we had rain we’d have more water.”

Eiland said Weiss Lake is in pretty good shape.

“If we continue to get some winter rains, we’re cautiously optimistic, but we still may be in a drought cycle,” he said