CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Less rainfall is helping the Great Lakes return to less-damaging levels.
Over the past two years, it has been estimated that high levels on the Great Lakes and punishing storms have caused a half-billion dollars in damage.
Now, one expert said “the worst is behind us.”
After two years of record-breaking levels, the Great Lakes have been dropping steadily; and according to the forecast from the US Army Corps of Engineers, while they’re still above normal, the levels are expected to remain below last year’s levels.
“We really shouldn’t be seeing anywhere near the record highs that we saw last year," John Allis, chief of Great Lakes hydrology for the Corps’ Detroit district told the Tribune.
Lake Michigan was down 14-inches last month compared to April of last year.
Still, experts said the combination of factors that make the lakes rise and fall - precipitation, evaporation, ice cover - can be hard to predict.
But the predictions are lower levels for the rest of the year.
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