GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A surplus of rain from March through the first half of April has significantly boosted Lake Michigan-Huron ahead of the summer season. Over the last month, most locations in West Michigan have received 200 to 300% of normal precipitation. What’s more, this is officially the wettest start to the year on record up to April 18.
Wisconsin has also been inundated with water, adding to the Lake Michigan water basin and causing it to rise. In just one month’s time, the US Army Corps of Engineers has estimated a 10-inch rise in water level in Lake Michigan-Huron.
Lake Michigan and Huron are connected at the Straits of Mackinac, effectively making them one giant lake for water-level data. The lake is still about two inches shy of where it usually is this time of year, and a full three feet lower than its all-time April high back in 2020. A single inch rise on Lake Michigan-Huron amounts to around 800 billion gallons of water, making a 10-inch rise 8 trillion gallons.
Current forecasts project a continued climb for all five Great Lakes into the middle of May. Lake Michigan-Huron is expected to rise three inches, with Superior rising four inches, Erie rising four inches, and Ontario rising five inches.
These levels should make for an easier launch to boating season come Memorial Day weekend. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues a new weekly forecast for lake level change, with the next update expected on April 23.
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