THUNDER BAY --A forecast for the Great Lakes, based on data and analyses from Canadian and American government agencies, raises the prospect of Lake Superior reaching an all-time high level later this year.
Superior's water level in December was already just 10 centimetres below its record height for that month. At 183.72 metres, the monthly mean level was the second highest on record since 1918.
According to the Canada/US International Lake Superior Board of Control, the level at the start of January was 34 centimetres above average, 20 centimetres above the level one year ago, and the second highest on record for this time since 1918.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says levels on all the Great Lakes are expected to rise for a fifth consecutive year, as a system-wide recovery continues from extremely low levels that were reached in 2013.
Media in the U.S.quote one forecaster there as saying "Lake Superior is one we're keeping an eye on" in the coming months.
Depending on the amount of precipitation that falls, the Corps' six-month forecast for Superior shows the potential for the lake to approach or surpass existing record high levels—set in the mid 1980s— by May or June.
Higher levels on the Great Lakes in recent years have permitted cargo ships to carry heavier loads.
