Great Lakes Levels Will Be Even or Up to Start Boating Season
The Detroit News

The levels of four Great Lakes are higher than a year ago and all except Lake Ontario should start next year's recreational boating season at or above last year's levels, according to two reports this month.

Lakes Michigan and Huron are predicted to be slightly above last year's levels to start May, while Superior, St. Clair and Erie are expected to be about the same as last year, according to a six-month outlook issued this month by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Actual levels will depend in part on precipitation and how much of the lakes' surface freezes over this winter, a factor that limits water loss by evaporation.

Recent cold air has allowed ice to form on many protected areas of the lakes, according to the Corps report issued Thursday.

This week, Huron and Michigan are 10 inches above last year, Superior is up 4 inches, and Erie and St. Clair are both 1 inch higher. Lake Ontario is 1 inch below last year, the report says.

The Great Lakes gradually have been recovering toward long-term averages after near-historic low levels in the middle part of the decade.

Surface levels can have a significant impact on the cost of Great Lakes shipping -- higher levels mean freighters can carry heavier loads. And shifts of just a few inches can mean changes of hundreds of feet on shoreline property and affect recreational boaters and tourism.