It is only 2.5 inches away from that record, set in October of 1986.
The official readings from May show the lake level was recorded at the highest level ever for the month of May. And June will likely see its highest level ever.
The current level is also 6 inches higher than what we saw last June.
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Typically in the fall and winter, the lake level declines. But that did not happen this year. Lake levels stayed very consistent through the past several months. So as summer begins, a time the lake level typically increases, the lake is starting at a very high level.
The current reading is 583.14 feet. That is just shy of the October 1986 record of 582.35 feet. It was just seven years ago the lake level was at its lowest recorded level, 576.02 feet.
Each foot of increase on Lake Michigan means an added 4.67 trillion gallons of water.
A graph from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows the fluctuations in the water levels of the Great Lakes going back to 1918. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron share the same water level.