Lake Superior could hit record water level this summer
Feb 20, 2019 03:11PM ● By Editor
Photo: Craig Sterken Photography
By Mark Torregrossa of mlive.com - February 21, 2019
The world’s largest fresh water lake by surface area, Lake Superior, could rise to its highest recorded summer level. Additionally, Lake Erie could also rise to a record level.
Below is the Lake Superior water level forecast issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The graph shows a few things. The green dashed line is the most likely Lake Superior water level over the next six months. That water level is based on normal precipitation amounts over the next six months. The red shaded cone area surrounding the green dashed line has all of the possible outcomes. Notice the upper end of the red shaded cone takes the Lake Superior water level higher than record levels by June and July. To achieve this record water level, higher than normal precipitation would have to occur across the Lake Superior drainage basin. With the current upper-air pattern, the storm systems are moisture laden and numerous. So the weather pattern now, along with increasing deep snow cover says a run at record water levels on Lake Superior is certainly possible.
Two other take aways from the forecast are water levels will be at least eight inches above normal (blue dashed line) and a likely water level at least two inches higher than last summer.
Two inches may not seem like a big deal, but it is when we are talking about the world’s largest fresh water lake by surface area. Those two inches of water are around 1.1 trillion gallons.
