Posted by Mark Turner on April 25, 2011 at 8:52 AM
My wife and I purchased a place on the shore of Green Bay in Door County. We came up this weekend to celebrate Easter, my birthday and get the condo ready for the upcoming season. I was shocked to see the water level down at least a foot!!! I was looking at the water level in the lagoon shown in the picture where we keep our boat, and another couple of years like this, the lagoon will be a ditch. Very alarming and I'm not sure of the reason.
My in-laws have a place across the lake from you in Michigan. We have seen years when the water is quite high and then years when it is quite low. As much as five feet or more in level change. Don't think it is time to worry yet.
Mark, there is a lot of water level variation in all the Great Lakes. Lake Erie has varied up to 6 feet dring the years I've been there.
Here is a good article about the Great Lakes variation (not to worry!)
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/brochures/lakelevels/lakelevels.pdf
Sandy
Posted by Mark Turner on April 26, 2011 at 4:47 PM
Thank you Walt for the reassurance and Sandy for the website information. I had actially googled Great Lakes Water levels after my post and found this site as well as some others that were useful. We've been going up to Door County for many years prior to buying this place so know that the waters fluctuate quite a bit. Looks like we are just on a DOWN cycle.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on April 27, 2011 at 9:22 AM
Mark.....Lake Michigan water levels had been on the up cycle for the last 5 years or so, after a very long down cycle. During the up cycle we gained about 4 feet of water on the lake, from the low point. Some of the loss of water might be due to the lake effect snows this past winter.
Discussion
4 repliesHere is a good article about the Great Lakes variation (not to worry!)
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/brochures/lakelevels/lakelevels.pdf
Sandy