Visual of Lake Michigan water levels

sbw1

Well-Known Member
Oct 10, 2006
8,183
West Michigan
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The pic of the grandkids fishing was taken when Lake Michigan was near the all time low. We added the ladder to get down to the boat. Our athletic young friends could hop up over the bow rail and onto the hardtop in one smooth motion. The other pic shows water levels this summer. We need a step to board the boat although water levels were higher last year.
 
View attachment 62306 View attachment 62304 View attachment 62305 The pic of the grandkids fishing was taken when Lake Michigan was near the all time low. We added the ladder to get down to the boat. Our athletic young friends could hop up over the bow rail and onto the hardtop in one smooth motion. The other pic shows water levels this summer. We need a step to board the boat although water levels were higher last year.

Not only is the lake near all time highs, I'm guessing the grandkids are too...

MM
 
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Glad you like it. Although the other one was shot at the beginning of summer, not in the winter. Some people say we have just two seasons in Michigan, winter and the 4th of July.
LOL! Two great pics from the same angle!!
 
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Here s a better shot of the water level the prior summer. Water was touching the steel beam holding up the dock off and on depending on wind and air pressure.
 
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Was up at our summer place this weekend on Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Water is up quite a bit over same time last year. Lots of beach errosion as a result. Its all sand a dunes where we are. Hopefully we don’t lose much more beach.
 
From 2013 to 2018 we have boarded our 270 four different ways due to rising water levels in our area.

MM
View attachment 62394 Was up at our summer place this weekend on Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Water is up quite a bit over same time last year. Lots of beach errosion as a result. Its all sand a dunes where we are. Hopefully we don’t lose much more beach.

Interesting, 2013 was a record low point when I first got a permanent slip on LM.

MM
 
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View attachment 62394 Was up at our summer place this weekend on Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Water is up quite a bit over same time last year. Lots of beach errosion as a result. Its all sand a dunes where we are. Hopefully we don’t lose much more beach.
Probably just high on the days you were there. This week's Corps of Engineers report shows last Friday's average was the same as the Friday of a year ago. So hopefully you are as good as what happened last year. The all time recorded low mean water level for LM was in 1964. We flirted with that level a few years back, maybe evening matching it for a week or so. Since then we have been on the way back up, but did not reach the 1986 record high. In the next year or two we should be headed back down.
 
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Probably just high on the days you were there. This week's Corps of Engineers report shows last Friday's average was the same as the Friday of a year ago. So hopefully you are as good as what happened last year. The all time recorded low mean water level for LM was in 1964. We flirted with that level a few years back, maybe evening matching it for a week or so. Since then we have been on the way back up, but did not reach the 1986 record high. In the next year or two we should be headed back down.

I was pretty happy when it came back up as it opened up a few anchorages that had gotten too shallow. Also improved the beach at our place. But then the beach dunes started getting knocked down. About 1 ft lower across the seasons would be perfect on all counts. But hey, its nature.

On the other hand, if climate change raises temperatures and the lake levels drop, my "to the waterline" title will give me more land, and maybe I can plant some palms on my new property!
 
I was pretty happy when it came back up as it opened up a few anchorages that had gotten too shallow. Also improved the beach at our place. But then the beach dunes started getting knocked down. About 1 ft lower across the seasons would be perfect on all counts. But hey, its nature.

On the other hand, if climate change raises temperatures and the lake levels drop, my "to the waterline" title will give me more land, and maybe I can plant some palms on my new property!

The south end of Lake Michigan has lost almost all of the beach. In 2013 it was normal to have a 100 feet of beach between the water and the dunes, no more, there is often just a few feet between the dunes and the water.

MM
 
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The south end of Lake Michigan has lost almost all of the beach. In 2013 it was normal to have a 100 feet of beach between the water and the dunes, no more, there is often just a few feet between the dunes and the water.

MM
It will return. (Still there; just underwater)
 
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I hope you are right, I am sure some will but a good bit has washed away. Many of the dunes are eroding badly and a few homes have been lost to the lake in the past couple of years.

MM
Our beaches come and go. Things changed pretty dramatically for the better when the water retreats. There is nothing you can do as nature always wins. Our home is about 100 years old and the yard has not changed much in the past century other than trees growing, getting struck by lightening, blowing down, growing up, etc. Storms can wreck havoc every so often, but living on one of the Great Lakes is about as good as it gets. We have enjoyed watching it change over the nearly 50 years we have lived by Lake Michigan.
 
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Our beaches come and go. Things changed pretty dramatically for the better when the water retreats. There is nothing you can do as nature always wins. Our home is about 100 years old and the yard has not changed much in the past century other than trees growing, getting struck by lightening, blowing down, growing up, etc. Storms can wreck havoc every so often, but living on one of the Great Lakes is about as good as it gets. We have enjoyed watching it change over the nearly 50 years we have lived by Lake Michigan.

These homes were not protected like yours and those beaches will likely never come back. Further exacerbating the issue is the New Buffalo harbor entrance was redone 20 years ago and the Army Corps Of Engineers indicated the beaches to the south would need replenishment as the new design would stop sand flow to the south, funding never materialized and the beaches are just gone, beautiful homes and their million dollar rock walls trying to save their house.

MM
 
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These homes were not protected like yours and those beaches will likely never come back. Further exacerbating the issue is the New Buffalo harbor entrance was redone 20 years ago and the Army Corps Of Engineers indicated the beaches to the south would need replenishment as the new design would stop sand flow to the south, funding never materialized and the beaches are just gone, beautiful homes and their million dollar rock walls trying to save their house.
MM
The beaches around Grand Haven come and go too MM. we lost a few homes in the 80s during the record high water levels. They were really old cottages built way too close to the bluffs, but still lasted a hundred years. Today you would never know they were once there. Nature has largely reverted the area to a nice beach. Common sense needs to prevail when choosing a place to build on water. We could almost do a thread on what to look for in water front real estate. There are issues that most people never know about when thinking water front property is the ideal place to live. The construction of harbors does impact beaches. There was one home north of the GH pier that was heavily damaged in the 80s. The pier was partially blamed, but then the home is very close to the lake. I would not want to bet my million dollars on a lot in that location. Still people do it all the time.
 
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The beaches around Grand Haven come and go too MM. we lost a few homes in the 80s during the record high water levels. They were really old cottages built way too close to the bluffs, but still lasted a hundred years. Today you would never know they were once there. Nature has largely reverted the area to a nice beach. Common sense needs to prevail when choosing a place to build on water. We could almost do a thread on what to look for in water front real estate. There are issues that most people never know about when thinking water front property is the ideal place to live. The construction of harbors does impact beaches. There was one home north of the GH pier that was heavily damaged in the 80s. The pier was partially blamed, but then the home is very close to the lake. I would not want to bet my million dollars on a lot in that location. Still people do it all the time.

Since I have to ask how much is costs and factor those risks, I cannot afford it. LOL

MM
 
While things like beaches come and go, one thing stays on forever. That is the change to water levels and the changes to the amount of beaches.

When I was growing up we had a cottage at Pt. Lookout, just north of Au Gres. I remember years when we had almost zero beach and other years when we had over 100' of beach.

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.
 

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