2024-Apr-29
April 28 Water Levels Report
The temperature in the Great Lakes has been about average so far this month. Lake Michigan-Huron is now 5 inches lower than it was at this time last year.
From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 3, 4, 7, 7 & 8 inches, respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 11, 5, 2, 1 & 11 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 3, 11, 14 & 2 inches, respectively, above their long-term April average, and Lake Superior is the same level. All the lakes remain well below their April record highs.
In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are expected to rise by 3, 3, 1, 0 & 2 inches, respectively.
Outflows from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River are expected to be slightly below average, whereas Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow into the St. Clair River is expected to be slightly above average, and Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River is expected to be slightly above average, and Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River and Lake Ontario’s outflow through the St. Lawrence River and are projected to be above average for this month.
This report below shows the most recent month of precipitation and outflows published by Level News:
With regard to the forecast graph below, and the more recently updated first graph in this report, the USACE is predicting that the most likely outcome is that the Lake Michigan-Huron level will continue to rise through June, level off in July, and then drop in August and September.
Monthly mean water levels for the previous year and the current year to date are shown as a solid line on the hydrographs. A projection for the next six months is given as a dashed line. This projection is based on the present condition of the lake basin and anticipated future weather. The shaded area shows a range of possible levels over the next six months dependent upon weather variations. Current and projected levels (solid and dashed lines) can be compared with the 1918-2021 average levels (dotted line) and extreme levels (shown as bars with their year of occurrence). The legend below further identifies the information on the hydrographs.
