Editing Lake Michigan (section)

=== Water level ===
The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels typically occurring in summer. The normal high-water mark is {{convert|2.00|ft|m}} above datum (''{{convert|577.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}''). In October 1986, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their highest level at {{convert|5.92|ft|m}} above datum.<ref name="COE-2009">Monthly bulletin of Lake Levels for The Great Lakes; September 2009; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District</ref> The monthly average high-water records were broken for several months in a row in 2020.<ref name="armymilGreatLakesData">{{Cite web|date=February 3, 2021|title=Great Lakes Water Level Data|url=https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Great-Lakes-Information/Great-Lakes-Information-2/Water-Level-Data/|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-date=May 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527020105/https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Great-Lakes-Information/Great-Lakes-Information-2/Water-Level-Data/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lake levels tend to be the lowest in winter. The normal low-water mark is {{convert|1.00|ft|cm}} below datum (''577.5 ft or 176.0 m''). In the winter of 1964, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their lowest level at {{convert|1.38|ft|cm}} below datum.<ref name="COE-2009" /> As with the high-water records, monthly low-water records were set each month from February 1964 through January 1965. During this twelve-month period, water levels ranged from {{convert|1.38|to(-)|0.71|ft|cm}} below Chart Datum.<ref name="COE-2009" /> The all-time low-water mark was eclipsed in January 2013.<ref name="armymilGreatLakesData" />

In January 2013, Lake Michigan's monthly mean water levels dipped to an all-time low of {{convert|576.2|ft|m|abbr=on}},<ref name="USAtoday3Apr2013">{{cite news |last=Bivins |first=Larry |date=April 3, 2013 |title=Low Great Lakes water levels plague shipping, recreation |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/03/great-lakes-low-water-levels/2050811 |access-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228015847/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/03/great-lakes-low-water-levels/2050811/ |url-status=live }}</ref> reaching their lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918. The lakes were {{convert|29|in|m|abbr=on}} below their long-term average and had declined 17 inches since January 2012.<ref name="Flesher5feb2013">{{cite news|last=Flesher|first=John |date=February 5, 2013 |title=Two Great Lakes hit lowest water levels since record keeping began nearly a century ago |newspaper=Vancouver Sun |url=https://vancouversun.com/technology/Great+Lakes+lowest+water+levels+since+record+keeping+began+nearly+cent<ury/7923713/story.html#ixzz2RxYTXcZr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212060009/http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Great+Lakes+lowest+water+levels+since+record+keeping+began+nearly+century/7923713/story.html#ixzz2RxYTXcZr |archive-date=February 12, 2013}}</ref> Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of [[Drainage basin|watershed]] [[hydrology]] for the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]' district office in [[Detroit]], explained that biggest factors leading to the lower water levels in 2013 were a combination of the "lack of a large snowpack" in the winter of 2011/2012 coupled with very hot and dry conditions in the summer of 2012.<ref name="USAtoday3Apr2013" />  Since then water levels rebounded, rising more than {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} to historical record high levels.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lake Michigan at Near-Record High Water Levels|url=https://www.weather.gov/lot/2019LakeMI|access-date=December 9, 2019|publisher=National Weather Service|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118234505/https://www.weather.gov/lot/2019LakeMI|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="armymilGreatLakesData" />