CLEVELAND, Ohio — People walking, running or launching boats along Lake Erie’s shorelines may have noticed more exposed beach and rock than in recent years — a subtle sign the lake has dipped below its long-term water level average after a period of record-highs.

Lake Erie’s lake-wide level measured 174.06 meters in November, compared with the historical average of 174.18. Aside from a four-month period last winter, the lake hasn’t dipped below average since 2016.

The shift — which scientists say is no cause for alarm — marks the expected transition away from a high-water period that peaked in 2019 and 2020, when the lake reached its highest level ever recorded.

The Great Lakes move through seasonal cycles each year, and long-term cycles that generally unfold over a 20- to 40-year perio

See Full Page