If Great Lakes Ice Coverage Stays High in 2023, Lake Levels Should Too

Will high Great Lakes ice coverage rates across the region translate into high water levels during the following summer? In a recent, “unofficial” outlook of the Great Lakes water levels, the Army Corps of Engineers – Detroit District forecasts that the Great Lakes water levels may continue to be above their long-term average for the following year should weather and ice cover conditions be similar to this past winter.

Startling Canadian Studies Hint That Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels Will Plummet Below Record by 2030

A more troubling part of the study’s forecast was that Lake Michigan-Huron is expected to decrease to 174.5 by 2030, only eight years away. This would make it 3.5 feet lower than the lows measured between 2000 and 2014. Such a drop may render some coastal ports and marinas inoperable, and it may be possible to walk to numerous islands on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay and North Channel.