(WWJ) — It’s safe to say Michigan had a much milder winter than we’re used to.
With the warmer-than-average temperatures and lack of snow, what will that mean for the water levels across the Great Lakes this spring and summer?
Keith Kompoltowicz, Chief of Hydraulics and Hydrology at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, says after “a very abnormal winter Great Lakes-wide,” we’ll be seeing lower lake levels than normal on the five Great Lakes, as well as Lake St. Clair.
But Kompoltowicz says that doesn’t mean we’re far below average levels. In fact, some of the lakes remain a couple of inches above their long-term average, he said.
“But some of the things folks will notice on some of the lakeshores, we’ll have larger beaches, shallower water in areas that folks might want to take their boats — they’ll have to pay additional attention to that,” he told WWJ’s Greg Bowman.
In addition to “larger beaches,” Kompoltowicz says the lower lake levels will also mean a “much lower threat to the infrastructure that is up against the shorelines.”
“But we’re nowhere near record lows on the Great Lakes, which certainly drives up the needs for dredging and groundings and things like that. I don’t think we’re quite ready to see conditions like that yet,” Kompoltowicz said.
While levels will be down as we enter spring and summer, it wasn’t long ago that the Great Lakes were far above average — Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are down about three feet from where they were in 2020.