2026-Mar-09
March 8 Water Levels Report
Lake Michigan-Huron is 3 inches below its level at this time last year.
From a month ago, the water levels on Lakes Michigan-Huron & Erie are up 1 inch. Lakes Superior, St. Clair & Ontario water levels remain the same. Lakes Superior & Ontario levels are up 4 & 3 inches, respectively, from last year, while Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair & Erie are lower by 3, 5 & 6 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 2, 12, 5, 8 & 6 inches below their long-term March averages. All the lakes remain well below their March record highs.
In a month, Lake Superior levels are predicted to remain the same. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario levels are expected to rise by 2, 4, 7 & 9 inches, respectively.
Lake Superior’s outflow through the St. Marys River is project to be above average in March. Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River, and Lake Ontario’s outflow through the St. Lawrence River are projected to be slightly below average in March.
This report below shows the most recent month of precipitation and outflows published by Level News:
With regard to the forecast graph below, and the more recently updated first graph in this report, the USACE is predicting that the most likely outcome is that the Lake Michigan-Huron level will start to rise in March through July.
Monthly mean water levels for the previous year and the current year to date are shown as a solid line on the hydrographs. A projection for the next six months is given as a dashed line. This projection is based on the present condition of the lake basin and anticipated future weather. The shaded area shows a range of possible levels over the next six months dependent upon weather variations. Current and projected levels (solid and dashed lines) can be compared with the 1918-2021 average levels (dotted line) and extreme levels (shown as bars with their year of occurrence). The legend below further identifies the information on the hydrographs.
The satellite imagery for March 8, 2026 shows diminishing ice cover for Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.
