Lake Michigan-Huron is 7 inches below its level at this time last year.
From a month ago, the water levels on Lake Michigan-Huron are down 1 inch. Levels on Lakes St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 4, 2 & 6 inches, while Lake Superior levels remain the same. Lakes Superior & Ontario levels are up 3 & 3 inches, respectively, from last year, while Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair & Erie are lower by 7, 4 & 7 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie & Ontario are 4, 12, 1, 3 & 1 inches below their long-term January averages. All the lakes remain well below their January record highs.
In a month, Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron & St. Clair levels are predicted to fall by 2, 0 & 2 inches, respectively. Lake Erie levels are expected to rise by 2 inches, while Lake Ontario levels are expected to remain the same.
Lake Ontario’s outflow through the St. Lawrence River is projected to be below average in January. Lake Superior’s outflow through the St. Marys River, Lake Michigan-Huron’s outflow through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair’s outflow through the Detroit River, and Lake Erie’s outflow through the Niagara River are projected to be near average in January.
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 continue to drop through January and start to level off in February.
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.
Satellite imagery of Georgian Bay is not clear. The chart below shows the ice coverage for January 18, 2026 and how it compares to coverage in the past for this date.
