Weather conditions: High pressure lead to mild sunny days and clear cool nights across the Great Lakes basin this week. Only trace amounts of precipitation were recorded in the basin. A weak cold front will bring a slight chance for rain and cooler temperatures to the region for the weekend, with milder weather slated to return early next week.

Water Level Conditions: All of the Great Lakes except for Lake Ontario remain several inches higher than their levels of a year ago. Lake Ontario's level is the same as it was last year at this time. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair and Erie are 2, 11, 8, and 6 inches, respectively, higher than their levels last year at this time. The water levels of Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron and St. Clair are expected to decline by 2 inches over the next month. Lake Erie and Ontario are expected to decline 1 and 2 inches, respectively, over the next 30 days. Over the next several months, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan-Huron and Lake St. Clair are forecasted to be above their water levels of a year ago. Lakes Erie and Ontario are forecasted to remain near or below last year's levels over the same time period. See the USACE Daily Levels web page for more water level information.

Current outflows / channel conditions: In October, the outflow from Lake Superior through the St. Mary's River and the outflow from Lake Michigan-Huron through the St. Clair River were below average. The flow in the Detroit River was also below average. The Niagara River carried near average flows during October, while the outflow from Lake Ontario through the St. Lawrence River was above average in October.

Alerts: 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.