National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting the water level of Lake Michigan-Huron will match record-low water levels (set in 1964) in November and December of this year and then set new record lows in January through March 2013.

Lake Michigan-Huron’s monthly mean level for September was 576.97 feet, which was 4 inches lower than August’s level. The level for September was 6 inches below chart datum, 11 inches below its level of last year, and 26 inches below its long-term average.

Precipitation on the Lake Michigan-Huron basin was 74% of average in September and 92% of average over the past 12 months.

The water levels are expected to be 28 to 29 inches below their long-term average through March 2013, which would be 11 to 17 inches below last year’s levels.

For a complete summary of the September 2012 Great Lakes water levels, click here.