Data: Water levels along Great Lakes staying steady
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It has been nearly five years since Lake Michigan and Lake Huron , causing and damaging several lakeside properties. After five years of steady drops, the lake has returned to average levels and could even stay below the mean this summer.
For the month of April, the average water level for — hydrologically, just one lake — was 578.35 feet. That is about 6 inches below the lake's long-term average and nearly 4 feet below the peak measured in July of 2020.
Lake Michigan Summer Beach Guide
But what's the difference between 2020 and 2025? Why do the lake levels fluctuate? Lauren Fry, a research physical scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, says it comes down to three primary factors.
'We call it net base and supply,' Fry told News 8. 'That's the combined influence of the precipitation over the lake plus any runoff from the land surface into the lake, minus the evaporation from the lake.'
For Lake Michigan/Huron, the record levels of 2020 were years in the making.
'If we looked over the previous five years, (those were among) the wettest five years on record. That was the culmination of several sequences of very wet years that led us up to that record-high water level,' Fry said.
, 2019 and 2017 were the two wettest years on record for the Great Lakes basin. The basin collected 42.65 inches and 41.14 inches of precipitation in those years. Since 1895, only one other year cracked 40 inches: 2011 (40.68 inches).
'This time of year, in 2020, there was pretty much no drought in the basin in the spring of 2020. But now, looking at the end of March drought monitor for North America, there are a number of areas that have some level of drought,' Fry said.
Pigeon Hill: Another piece of West Michigan lost to time
That includes much of Michigan's lower peninsula, along with stretches in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Much of Minnesota and northern portions of Wisconsin are also considered to be in a .
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is always analyzing data and issuing a for each of the Great Lakes. The current forecast shows it's more likely than not that Lake Michigan/Huron will fall short of the long-term average when it peaks later this summer. The summer peak hasn't come in below the long-term average since 2013.
Levels on Lake Michigan/Huron have been trending steadily lower since 2020, but data shows the levels shouldn't drop notably in the coming year. The Great Lakes Basin has collected anywhere between 34 and 36.2 inches of precipitation in each of the five years. They were not the wettest years on record, but consistently higher than most years.
Geography plays a role in how that precipitation formula impacts the lakes differently. Lake Michigan/Huron hit record highs in July 2020, but not the others. Erie and Ontario actually hit record highs the year before and were slightly lower in 2020. Same with Lake Superior, which was just inches shy of its all-time record in 2019.
Fear of chapel falling in gone, Camp Geneva has a beach again
While the basin numbers are high, more precise data would favor Lake Michigan/Huron. That lake and the nearby areas that feed into it received a higher portion of the precipitation than the other lakes. Therefore, Lake Michigan/Huron rose sharply in 2020, while the others fell short of their 2019 numbers.
Because of the 2020 spike, we know the negative impacts of high lake levels, but what about low levels? Fry says there are several potential problems, including water access.
'Your boat in your marina might have a harder time. You might have to have more dredging, navigation impacts. Big freighters may have less ability to carry as much freight,' Fry surmised.
A lakeshore legend: Carousel keeps Silver Beach's history alive
Fish habitat on the Great Lakes wouldn't be impacted much by a drop in levels but other parts of the system could be.
'It (likely) wouldn't be in the lakes, but it'd probably be in the feeder system. Wetlands and stuff that drain into (the lakes),' Fry said. 'If the lakes are low, that means they are low, too.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
13 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump appears to undercut US proposal to Iran, declaring he won't allow any uranium enrichment
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to undercut a proposal that was offered by his special envoy to Iran, saying he will insist that Tehran fully dismantle its nuclear enrichment program as part of any deal to ease crushing sanctions. Trump and Steve Witkoff, who is leading the negotiations for the U.S., have repeatedly offered inconsistent public messages about whether Iran would be allowed to retain the capacity to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian purposes. The Trump administration maintains that it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. The negotiations have been framed by Trump as both countries' best chance to avoid direct military conflict over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, has insisted that it will not agree to any deal that fully scraps its enrichment program. 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!' Trump wrote on social media. The White House didn't elaborate on the post. Trump's post comes after media reports that Witkoff's latest proposal to Tehran would allow Iran to retain low levels of enrichment for civilian uses like nuclear medicine and commercial power if it agrees to shut down its heavily protected underground sites for a period of time. The U.S. and Iran have engaged in several rounds of direct nuclear talks for the first time in years. Senior officials — including Witkoff and Trump himself — have said within the last few weeks that Iran would not be able to keep enriching uranium at any level. The proposal, reported by Axios and confirmed by two U.S. officials, called for the creation of a regional consortium to handle uranium enrichment for civilian uses — a plan first studied more than a decade ago in negotiations that led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump was sharply critical of that agreement — which also allowed set limits on uranium enrichment but permitted Iran to maintain such a capacity — and withdrew the U.S. from it in 2017 during his first term. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic negotiations. The International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels since its last update in February, according to a confidential report released by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Saturday. Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but Iranian officials have increasingly suggested that Tehran could pursue an atomic bomb. 'President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement before Trump's post. 'Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it's in their best interest to accept it. Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.' The proposal that Trump appeared to undercut on Monday evening included significant concessions by the administration certain to anger Israel along with pro-Israel lawmakers in the United States. Several of the main points were essentially the same or very similar to conditions outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal. Early iterations of that agreement negotiated by the Obama administration also suggested the possibility of a regional consortium that would put Iranian uranium enrichment above a certain level under the control of Iran and its neighbors. The idea was scrapped, however, because of Gulf Arab nations' objections and Iranian suspicions of the ultimate aims of the consortium. People who were involved in the 18-month negotiations for the 2015 deal reacted immediately to reports that the Trump administration might allow Iran to continue with an enrichment program at any level, particularly after senior officials repeatedly said Iran would not be able to retain such programs. 'This proposal poses a moment of truth for critics of previous Iran nuclear negotiations/agreements (and) those who have called for a no-enrichment, full-dismantlement deal,' Dan Shapiro, Obama's former ambassador to Israel, wrote on X. 'Will they hold Trump to the same standard?'
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Trump appears to undercut US proposal to Iran, declaring he won't allow any uranium enrichment
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to undercut a proposal that was offered by his special envoy to Iran, saying he will insist that Tehran fully dismantle its nuclear enrichment program as part of any deal to ease crushing sanctions. Trump and Steve Witkoff, who is leading the negotiations for the U.S., have repeatedly offered inconsistent public messages about whether Iran would be allowed to retain the capacity to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian purposes. The Trump administration maintains that it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. The negotiations have been framed by Trump as both countries' best chance to avoid direct military conflict over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, has insisted that it will not agree to any deal that fully scraps its enrichment program. 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!' Trump wrote on social media. The White House didn't elaborate on the post. Trump's post comes after media reports that Witkoff's latest proposal to Tehran would allow Iran to retain low levels of enrichment for civilian uses like nuclear medicine and commercial power if it agrees to shut down its heavily protected underground sites for a period of time. The U.S. and Iran have engaged in several rounds of direct nuclear talks for the first time in years. Senior officials — including Witkoff and Trump himself — have said within the last few weeks that Iran would not be able to keep enriching uranium at any level. The proposal, reported by Axios and confirmed by two U.S. officials, called for the creation of a regional consortium to handle uranium enrichment for civilian uses — a plan first studied more than a decade ago in negotiations that led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Trump was sharply critical of that agreement — which also allowed set limits on uranium enrichment but permitted Iran to maintain such a capacity — and withdrew the U.S. from it in 2017 during his first term. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic negotiations. The International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels since its last update in February, according to a confidential report released by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Saturday. Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but Iranian officials have increasingly suggested that Tehran could pursue an atomic bomb. 'President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement before Trump's post. 'Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it's in their best interest to accept it. Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.' The proposal that Trump appeared to undercut on Monday evening included significant concessions by the administration certain to anger Israel along with pro-Israel lawmakers in the United States. Several of the main points were essentially the same or very similar to conditions outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal. Early iterations of that agreement negotiated by the Obama administration also suggested the possibility of a regional consortium that would put Iranian uranium enrichment above a certain level under the control of Iran and its neighbors. The idea was scrapped, however, because of Gulf Arab nations' objections and Iranian suspicions of the ultimate aims of the consortium. People who were involved in the 18-month negotiations for the 2015 deal reacted immediately to reports that the Trump administration might allow Iran to continue with an enrichment program at any level, particularly after senior officials repeatedly said Iran would not be able to retain such programs. 'This proposal poses a moment of truth for critics of previous Iran nuclear negotiations/agreements (and) those who have called for a no-enrichment, full-dismantlement deal,' Dan Shapiro, Obama's former ambassador to Israel, wrote on X. 'Will they hold Trump to the same standard?'
CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Acting head of FEMA said he wasn't aware U.S. has a hurricane season, sources say
Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were confused and dispirited on Monday after the acting head of the agency said during a daily briefing that he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to three sources familiar with the meeting. The remark was made by David Richardson at the conclusion of an 8:30 a.m. daily operational briefing typically attended by hundreds of FEMA staffers and interagency partners. Reuters was first to report the comment. Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer, has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally or as a joke, but current and former employees who spoke with CBS News said the comment flustered many who genuinely believe Richardson was truly surprised to learn that a hurricane season had started. Others suggested that any joke made by the leader about the upcoming season was delivered in poor taste, offending agency staff already suffering from low morale amid a flurry of resignations, firings, leadership overhauls and polygraph tests distributed to staffers. Acting FEMA chief David Richardson Department of Homeland Security The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and lasts through November. NOAA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, recently predicted it will be an above-average hurricane season that could bring 13 to 19 named storms, with six to 10 becoming hurricanes and three to five strengthening into major hurricanes.
