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Snow and Cold Should Help Lake Michigan, a Bit

Susan Bence

A year ago, Lake Michigan's water level hit an all-time low. It's up a foot, but has 1.5 feet to go. Our snow will eventually seep in, while ice is blocking evaporation.

Paul Paul Roebber, an atmospheric scientist at UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences, says the main factors affecting lake levels are precipitation and temperature.

We might be headed in a positive direction, but he expects the rising water levels to be a short term variation. "The long term trend seems to point in the opposite direction", Roebber says, because of regional climate change.