Kitchi-Gami Almanac Water Levels
Drought Persists in Lake Superior Region
Parts of the Lake Superior region continued to face severe drought through spring and early summer of 2010, with the hardest-hit areas in northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Although lake levels usually rise in spring, all the Great Lakes have been below last year’s springtime levels. In June, Lake Superior was down 6 inches from the previous year and 1 foot below the average for the month. Even so, “we don’t threaten any record lows,” says Keith Kompoltowicz, meteorologist with the Army Corps of Engineers.
Precipitation in the Lake Superior basin January-May was almost 5 inches below normal, which changed with June’s heavy rains. Basinwide rainfall of 2.66 inches into mid-June compared to the 1.84-inch average gives reason for optimism. The other lakes also fared well, too; Michigan-Huron, 3.46 inches (1.77); Erie, 2.97 (1.96); and Ontario, 4.1 (1.77).
Lake Superior was projected to rise 3 inches by mid-July.
History Notes
September 1, 1980: Terry Fox ends his cross-country “Marathon of Hope” near Thunder Bay. (Terry Fox Foundation, www.terryfoxclub.org)
September 8, 1896: Suomi College opens in Hancock, Michigan. It becomes Finlandia University in 2000. (Michigan History Magazine, www.michiganhistorymagazine.com)
September 24, 1963: President Kennedy gives a speech in Duluth. (Minnesota Historical Society, www.mnhs.org)
September 26, 1970: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is established near Bayfield, Wisconsin. (Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, www.nps.gov)