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What's New
Number of cargo trips decreasing in Lake St. Clair
The Voice (5/23)
The number of cargo trips taken by lake carrier vessels in the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair has decreased significantly since 2005.

Aspiring policymakers hit the road to learn about climate change adaptation
Great Lakes Echo (5/23)
Two recent University of Michigan Graduates are embarking on a three-month, cross-country road trip to get an on-the-ground look at climate change adaptation.

EDITORIAL: Lake levels won’t fix themselves
Grand Haven Tribune (5/20)
While climate change may have some impact on the level of the lakes, we cannot throw our hands up and leave it all to Mother Nature to fix. We need to explore man-made options for normalizing water levels.

Why low Lake Ontario levels mean high St. Lawrence levels
North Country Public Radio (5/17)
How can water levels on the St. Lawrence River be too high while the Great Lakes water levels are at historic lows? It appears one man-made change to this vast natural system has many consequences.

St. Lawrence River Board of Control will lower gates at Iroquois Dam near Waddington to reduce water level
North Country Now (5/15)
In response to an order by the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, the gates at the Iroquois Dam near Waddington will be lowered on Wednesday due to increased water levels on Lake St. Lawrence.

St. Lawrence River water levels rise dramatically
WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY (5/13)
A strong southwest wind is being blamed for significantly raising water levels on the St. Lawrence River between two and three feet over the weekend, creating shoreline erosion problems and making some docks unreachable.

These maps were prepared in partnership with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS).

Weather conditions: Wet conditions continued across the Great Lakes basin this week due to heavy rain, wet soil conditions, and continued snow melting in the northern areas. Overall, the basin has received 180% of average precipitation for the month of April, with the Michigan-Huron basin receiving over 200% of average. Temperatures dropped below average on Wednesday and Thursday but are expected to warm up over the weekend. Expect low chances of precipitation over the weekend with above average temperatures heading into next week.

Water Level Conditions: The water levels of the Great Lakes have risen significantly over the past month. Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are 2 and 7 inches, respectively, lower than their levels of a year ago. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are 6, 8, and 3 inches, respectively, lower than at this time last year. Over the next month, Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are both forecasted to rise 3 inches. The water levels of lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are expected to rise 1, 2, and 3 inches, respectively, over the next thirty days. See the Great Lakes Water Levels web page for more water level information.

Forecasted outflows / channel conditions: Lake Superior’s outflow through the St. Marys River is projected to be below average for the month of April. Lake Huron’s outflow into the St. Clair River and the outflow from Lake St. Clair into the Detroit River are also expected to be below average throughout the month of April. Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River is predicted to be below average and the outflow of Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is expected to be below average in April.

Alerts: Official records are based on monthly average water levels and not daily water levels. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron are below chart datum. Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels. Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings.

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Great Lakes Information Network
Updated: May 24, 2013
Maintained by: Christine Manninen, manninen@glc.org
Selected Photos: Copyright ©John and Ann Mahan
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