Shutterstock
If you live in the Great Lakes region, you might have heard some rumblings about the lakes getting close to being full. How big of an issue is this? Certainly, the issues of flooding and shore erosion come to mind, but how bad could the lakes being overfull really be? Let’s take a closer look.
Of course, the first question we need to ask is: How did the lakes get so full? Well, the old-fashioned way.
Heavy rainfall, excessive snowfall and generally higher-than-average precipitation resulted in the extremely high lake levels. All of the Great Lakes are currently around half of a foot under their historic records, and they’re expected to stay there into February.
Strong winds and high waves become much more dangerous when the lakes are very full. This can lead to a host of problems. However, there is little to be done at the moment: typically, evaporation is the main way that the lake levels fall. This is largely not happening quickly enough due to the seemingly nonstop storms that have been passing over the Midwest since last winter.
It seems the central US can’t catch a break from all of the precipitation.
When the water levels are too high, the cold fronts that sweep through the region can become even more dangerous. High wind speed can lead to strong waves, and these, in turn, can wash up onto the shore and cause shoreline erosion, as well as damage to shorefront property and landscapes.
Of course, coastal flooding is also a major concern for people who leave near the lakeshore.
Meanwhile, the lake levels don’t seem to indicate they’ll be falling anytime soon. Instead, it seems that the constant precipitation will continue to increase the water levels on the lake.
Typically, winter is a period of dropping water levels for all of the Great Lakes, but this seems unlikely this season as the forecast calls for even more heavy precipitation.
Those who live in the region are cautioned to keep their eyes peeled for flood warnings as the season bears on.
