We have this years algal bloom predictions for Lake Erie - they will be smaller than average, but more severe than last year. The first forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for a rating of 6 on a scale of 1-10. Last year, the forecast was for a 4.5 and the bloom ended up at 3.
(The blue-green toxic algae is an annual problem in Lake Erie, from Toledo to the islands. The algae turns fresh water into pea soup, with thick mats of scum that can close beaches, wreck tourist fishing and contaminate drinking water, as it did in Toledo in 2014. The worst blooms in the last decade have been 2011 and 2015. The size of the annual spread depends on how much rain falls on Northeast Indiana, Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio between March and July, how heavy the rain is and how much fertilizer and manure run off farms into the Maumee River, and then Lake Erie.)
