Lake Superior is a great lake with management context from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Environment and Climate Change Canada (monitoring); international regulation context. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network).
Lake Status
1.02 feet above long-term average
+1.02 ft vs long-term average
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 0.03 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 0.19 ft
- Last updated
- 18 minutes ago
Lake Superior is currently 1.02 feet above long-term average and has risen slightly over the past week. The lake is above its long-term average and has continued to rise over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Keweenaw County, MI · surrounding county from lake location
Abnormally Dry
The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
No
Current conditions are classified as Abnormally Dry (D0), which is not considered official drought.
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 15, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Keweenaw County, MI
Key Facts
Waterbody / project type
Datum
Current-level source
Why the level can change
General factors for Great Lakes
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Basin water balance
Great Lakes levels respond to precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and connecting-channel flows across the basin.
Seasonal cycle
Levels typically rise in spring/early summer and fall later in the year, though the pattern varies by lake and year.
Connecting channels
Flows through connecting channels and regulated outlets influence how water moves through the Great Lakes system.
Wind & seiches
Strong winds can temporarily raise levels on one shore and lower them on another (wind setup / seiche).
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Environment and Climate Change Canada (monitoring); international regulation context
Observation source used by Lake Insights: NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network)
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
General education
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network), we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Lake Superior
- Who manages Lake Superior?
- Lake Superior is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Environment and Climate Change Canada (monitoring); international regulation context. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Lake Superior?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Lake Superior from NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network). The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Environment and Climate Change Canada (monitoring); international regulation context) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Lake Superior?
- Elevations for Lake Superior are referenced to IGLD85 (MSL).