Forecast could push Great Lakes water levels toward flood risk
If the spring continues to be wet, it's conceivable we will be within 50 cm of the all-time Lake Ontario water levels by June
The Great Lakes are slowly filling up, so when do they peak?
It's no shocker it's been particularly wet over the past several months. April is no exception, with regions in the Great Lakes basin seeing above-normal precipitation.
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Analyzing the past 30 days highlights the precipitation anomaly, but this pattern stretches back to January:
Each of the Great Lakes is overfilled compared to the long-term water level average, with Erie running the highest with a 40-cm surplus.
Lake Ontario saw record-level water levels surge close to 76 metres, causing significant shoreline erosion and costly flooding, including Toronto Island.
If the spring continues to be wet, it's conceivable we're within 50 cm of those all-time levels by June.
Long-term precipitation outlook looks particularly wet for eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.
Here's hoping we return to a more seasonal precipitation pattern in May or we risk lakeshore flooding as we turn the page into summer.
