FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels Update for November 9, 2001
Recent Weather:
Precipitation has been sparse across the Great Lakes basin during the first
part of November with any rainfall generally light and short-lived. This follows a very wet October with the Lake
Michigan basin (189 % of average) and Lake Erie basin (219 % of average) the wettest. The
Lake Ontario basin (114% of average) saw the least amount of precipitation, but remained
above average. Stream flows in the Great Lakes generally remain at or above average except
for the northern Lake Michigan basin and some tributaries to Lakes Erie and Ontario, which
are at below average flows.
Current Lake Levels: The rain of the last several weeks has reduced the
normal decline on all of the Great Lakes. Lake Superior’s water level is currently 8
inches below its long-term average and 4 inches above last year at this time. The Lakes
Michigan-Huron water level is 15 inches below average and is 6 inches above last year. Lake St. Clair is 8 inches below average and is at
the same level as this time last year. Lake Erie is 7 inches below its average level and 5
inches below this time last year. Lake Ontario’s level is 2 inches below average and
is at the same level as this time last year.
Current Outflows / Channel Conditions: The Lake
Superior outflow through the St. Marys River into Lake Huron is expected to be about 24%
below the long-term average for November. Flows in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers were
12% and 6% below average, respectively, in October. Flows into the Niagara River from Lake
Erie were about 8% below average in October. The flow from Lake
Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is currently 11% below average and the flows should remain below average through November.
Temperature/Precipitation
Outlook: Temperatures
closer to seasonal normals will be seen across the lakes region through the weekend as
cool, fair weather high-pressure systems move in from Canada. Temperatures are expected to
warm next week with some rain. The National Weather Service’s latest medium-range
outlooks indicate above-average temperatures and below average precipitation will then
dominate through the 3rd full week of November.
Forecasted Water Levels: The water levels of Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are anticipated to gradually decline another 1 and 2 inches, respectively, over the next four weeks. Lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are expected to slowly decline or remain steady over the next four weeks.
Alerts: Users of the Great Lakes, connecting
channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before
undertaking any activities that could be affected by low water. Mariners should possess navigation charts and
refer to current water level readings.
For More Information Contact:
Yacht Works, Inc.
P.O.Box 199
10967 North Bay Shore Drive
Tel: 920-854-2124
FAX: 920-854-2174
Internet: yachtworks@itol.com
