2022-Dec-19
December 18 Water Levels Report
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year – see first graph below.
From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, & Erie are down 4, 4, 1, & 0 inches respectively, and Lake Ontario is up 1 inch. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are lower by 11, 11, 13 & 17 inches respectively, and Lakes Superior is up 9 inches, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & are 5, 3, 7, & 9 inches above, respectively, and Lake Ontario is 4 inches below, their long term December average. All the lakes remain well below their December record highs, except for Superior which is only 11 inches below.
In a month’s time Lakes Superior & Michigan-Huron, are expected to fall by 2 & 3 inches respectively. Lakes St Clair, Erie & Ontario are expected to remain at approximately the same level.
Outflows from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River, Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow into the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River, and are all projected to be above average for this month, whereas Lake Ontario’s outflow through the St. Lawrence River is projected to be below average.
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 declining through January, levelling off in February, and then rising through March and into May.
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.
