Lakes Huron, Michigan break high water records in June

Two Great Lakes continued to set record high water levels in June, according to the Army Corps of Engineers office in Detroit.

Lakes Michigan and Huron surpassed by five inches their previous record highs from 1986, according to a recent report. Lake St. Clair also surpassed a record high from last year by one inch.

"Looking forward here, we expect that we’ve about reached the highest level on Michigan and Huron for the year," said John Allis, the chief of the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District. "So we’re predicting July levels will be the same as June."

From May to June, lakes Michigan and Huron rose by about three inches while lakes Superior and St. Clair rose about two inches.

Allis said that water levels are in “that zone where we’re at significant risk of erosion and flooding, especially as we get some larger storms as we head into the fall."

Lake Erie rose less than an inch during that time and water levels in Lake Ontario fell by three inches.  

The June report follows a six-month lake level forecast the Army Corps of Engineers office released last month showing that lakes Michigan and Huron are expected to be 2 to 5 inches above record levels through August.

Allis said Monday that he expects one more record high in August before levels to fall back in September through the rest of the year under average conditions.

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CWilliams_DN