‘Invisible force’ draining Great Lakes now has a measurement showing why water is disappearing

The Great Lakes water levels are declining right now. Here’s a look at the few factors causing the water levels to go down.

First off, it’s not a surprise that the Great Lakes are going down right now. It’s just the rate of decline is large. There is a seasonality to the Great Lakes water levels. If we start the cycle in March, the water starts increasing then, with snowmelt and heavier spring rain. The water levels usually rise to around July or August. In August the evaporation increases. The evaporation stays high into early winter as the amount of liquid precipitation goes down with the colder temperatures. This combination of high evaporation and lower precipitation takes more water out of the Great Lakes than is put into the lakes. Water levels typically decline until March, when th