2022-May-16
May 15 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 & Ontario are up 7, 4, 4, 4 & 2 inches respectively. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Erie are lower by 3, 8, 4 & 1 inches, respectively, and Lakes Ontario is 17 inches higher than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 2, 10, 13, 13 & inches, respectively, above their long term May average. All the lakes remain well below their May record highs.
In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, & Erie are forecast to be up 4, 2, 2 & 0 inches respectively, and Lake Ontario is forecast to be down 2 inches.
Outflows from Lake Superior into the St. Mary’s River is predicted to be below average for this month and Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow into the St. Clair River is predicted to be about average for this month. Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River and Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River are also forecasted to be above average in this month. In addition, Lake Ontario’s outflow through the St. Lawrence River is 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 its seasonal rise through June, level off in July, and commence its seasonal decline in August, through September and into October.
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 1918-2019 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.
