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FYI, this article just appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Report: Great Lakes water levels may flirt with record lows September 6, 2012 | 3 Comments

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By Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

   Filed Under

   Local News
   Metro Detroit
   Great Lakes
   Lake St. Clair

Zoom

Water levels on Lakes Huron and Michigan could drop to record lows a few months from now should the region be hit with extreme dryness, according to a report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology in the Detroit office of the corps, said the potential for record lows for the two lakes, which are hydrologically the same body of water, is not a prediction, but instead the low end of a possible scenario for the next six months.

The corps' report, issued Tuesday, said it was most likely that the water levels would stay just above record lows, but several months of extreme dryness would change that.

"Given the extreme dry conditions, there is potential that we would set new record lows on Lakes Michigan/Huron," Kompoltowicz said.

Lake levels are measured monthly. The record lows for Huron and Michigan were recorded in 1964 and 1965.

This November, the levels could drop below the November 1964 level, which was about 28 inches below the year-to-year average for the month of November.

Matt Mosteiko, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's White Lake Township office, said precipitation during the next six months is expected to range from below normal to near normal.

All of the Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair are projected to be below their long-term averages during the next six months:

• Michigan/Huron, 24-25 inches below the long-term average; • Superior, 11-12 inches below; • St. Clair, 8-15 inches below;

• Erie, 6-9 inches below;

• Ontario, 7-9 inches below.

A warm, dry summer and limited snowfall last winter are to blame, Kompoltowicz said.

"All of the Great Lakes kind of had below-normal snowfall during the winter," he said, pointing out that unlike during typical years, Lakes St. Clair and Erie did not see their levels rise at all between February and June.

The year-to-year average August lake level for Michigan and Huron is 579.3 feet above sea level.

Low lake levels could affect commercial shipping, and people with lakefront property could see more exposed shoreline.

Those worried about future water levels can take some solace in the historical record.

Following the record lows of 1964 and 1965, the levels rebounded to record highs in 1974 and 1975 and again in 1986.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com Hope that helps. 7&6=thirteen (☎) 02:43, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

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