Lake Michigan, Lake Huron lose over 3 trillion gallons of water in November

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The two Great Lakes that surround Lower Michigan continue to trek downward on lake levels. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are now approaching their long-term average water level.

Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are in their seasonal decline. We do normally expect the lake levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron to fall during November. The amount of evaporation is usually higher than the amount of precipitation in November as cold weather takes over. The colder air holds less moisture.

According the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water level declined 4 inches in the past month. Since Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are connected with free-flowing water at the Straits of Mackinac region, hydrologically they are measured as one lake.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says one inch of water on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron equals 800 billion gallons of water. A decline of 4 inches of water equals 3.2 trillions gallons.

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Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels over the past two years and a forecast for the next six months.

The graph above shows the current water level with the red line. Lakes Michigan and Huron have declined around 2 feet since the near-record high water level in November 2020. The blue line is the long-term average water level. Lakes Michigan and Huron are now only 5 inches higher than the long-term water average. Essentially, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are now hovering near an average water level.

Going forward in the next six months, Lakes Michigan and Huron water levels are expected to track about 4 inches higher than the long-term average. If precipitation averages much lower than usual, the lake levels could touch the long-term average. It is expected to be a wetter-than-normal winter, so the upper range of water levels is more likely. Even at the higher water level range, Lakes Michigan and Huron will be around 2 feet lower than record high levels.

We went through record low water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron around 2012. We then had a record rise in water levels with Lakes Michigan and Huron rising almost 7 feet up to 2020. Now we are in the nice sweet spot where the lake levels are just about normal.

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