There's a good chance the water level of Lake Huron will continue to rise this year.
Geoff Peach of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation points out the ice cover this year was slightly more than last year, at about 95 per cent.
The ice last year didn't disappear until well into May and that created relatively cool water temperatures through the fall when cool, dry Arctic air sweeps down over the Great Lakes.
Peach explains if the water is warm, there is more evaporation in that dry air and that reduces the lake level. If the water is cool, there isn't nearly as much evaporation and the level does not drop.
The Coastal Resources Manager says water temperatures are likely going to be the same as last year but the variable is precipitation. If it follows the same pattern as last year, the lake level will rise further. If we get a warm, dry summer, the water level will remain stable.
Peach adds we're currently looking at a lake level similar to 1997 and at that time the high water level created significant erosion problems. The combination of a high lake level and more intense storm events could pose a similar problem in the next year or so.