Who tipped Lake Erie and Lake levels up slightly

[Scott B]

Feb. 7 Great Lakes Level News .... Lake Erie tipped 4.7 metres or close to 15 ft..... downhill water skiing anyone ?? Seems Jan. 30 was a little breezy with winds clocked at 126 km/hr. ( 100 mph) *yksFrom the Environemt Canada web site Sustained winds pushed the water in Lake Erie toward the eastern end of the lake, causing a maximum positive surge (a short time-period increase in water levels often referred to as storm set-up) of 2.95 metres above pre-storm levels at Buffalo, NY. As levels rose at the eastern end of the lake, there was a corresponding negative surge (or set-down) at the western end of the lake. At Toledo, Ohio, levels fell 2.39 metres below pre-storm levels. Although the maximum positive and negative surges did not occur at the same time, for a short period of time during the storm the difference between water levels recorded at Buffalo and Toledo was more than 4.7 metres. In fact, the tilt in the lake's surface from one end to the other was more than 4 metres for more than 4 ½ hours and in excess of 3 metres for almost eight hours during the storm.On a brighter note lake levels in Michigan and Huron rose 8 cm ( 3 inches) instead of declining and there is a 50/50 chance they'll hit chart datum this summer. Previously predicted to be below all time record lows in the 60's.Read more info here http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/water/level-news/ln200802_e.html

 

[Ross]

Wind and tides often get together on the Chesapeake Bay

to make for very low water levels on the western shore and high water on the eastern shore.

 

[higgs]

We know

Here in L Ontario we are getting a lot of ice that was forced over the barrier at the mouth of the Niagara River in Buffalo. There was flooding in Buffalo as a result of those winds. Quite the event.

 

[Scott B]

but Ross

we don't get tides in these lakes... this is all wind surge.

 

[Ross]

I know! those lakes are much bigger than this bay

and winds like that are called by name down here. Names like: Agnes, and David and Floyd and Isobelle. Fifty knots here is an event.

 

[jimq26]

Scott - don't exaggerate - 126km is only 78 mph.

I know - what the hell - close enough.Nice eclipse eh? My damn scotch is frozen just standing on the deck.

 

[Scott B]

Jim - just too tired to think about it

Yes you're right 160 km / hr is 100 mph, but still breezy.The eclipse is great, I've taken a few pictures so far. The scotch sounds like a good idea, but frozen is a little too chilled.

 

[Scott B]

Great Lakes levels up

The better news in my original post is that the Great Lakes actually rose in January instead of dropping as earlier predicted. This is good news for anyone crusing in this region. The water in our are has been getting lower and lower and making some areas very difficult if not impossible to get into.We've had even more heavy rains and snow in Feb., so hopefully the water will come up even more.From Environment Canada:The early January thaw, snowmelt and rainfall over the Great Lakes basin resulted in above-average water supplies to each of the lakes in January. Water levels on all the lakes except Lake Superior rose in January. Lake Superior's level fell by 4 cm in January, while on average it declines by 7 cm during the month. The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron rose by 8 cm during the month, while on-average they decline by 2 cm in January. The well-above-average supply to the Lake Erie basin more than offset the lower-than-average inflow Lake Erie received from the upper lakes. As a result, the lake's level rose by 4 cm last month, compared to an average 1 cm decline in January.

 

[Scott B]

great article

barometer, that's a great article. I find it facinating how the wind will effect the water levels so much.

 

[SailJunkie]

Yes, on the western shore...

with 25 knot winds, the water level will drop 2 to 3 feet or more. We don't typically experience the kinds of surges that Buffalo gets...only drops. I wish we had floating docks at my marina. I need to keep a very close eye on wind speeds, and adjust my lines accordingly (which means, sometimes, driving the 40 minutes to my boat, adjusting lines, and driving home).

 

[Scott B]

Funny

I've lived in Southern Ontario all my life, couple hours from Lake Erie and really had no idea it fluctuated so much with the winds. Learnt sumethin new

 

[shemandr]

It happens here too

Even in our little waterways between the forks of Long Island the water level in the western areas drop markedly with a strong blow from the west. Some days the high tide never occurs. Conversely, a strong NE can cause local flooding.

 

[sailaway78]

We get them here too

We get the wind tides here too. Lake Ponchatrain has only the Rigolets, which is not a real wide cut, connecting it to the gulf. Yet with a fairly constant wind for a couple of days, we get significant water level changes.