Lake Superior lake and shoreline

Lake Superior Water Level

MichiganMinnesotaWisconsin

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Lake-specific pages: Weather · Lake level.

Alert details

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is currently 0.7 feet above its long-term average, with a water-surface elevation of 601.8 feet.

601.79 ft · Updated 3 hours ago · NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network)

Current level

601.79ft

+0.74 ft vs long-term average

0.69 ft above chart datum (LWD)

Status unavailable

Vs long-term average

Since last reading

Down 0.18 ft

Previous readingOct 8602 ft

7-day change

Down 0.17 ft

7-day trend: Falling

8 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Down 0.31 ft

30 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Current
601.79 ft
24h
-0.18 ft
7d
-0.17 ft
30d
-0.31 ft

Elevation (ft) IGLD85 · MSL

Reference line shows the annual long-term average (IGLD 1985). Near-real-time level is a Cleveland + Toledo gauge average — lake-wide coordinated means can differ slightly.

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Lake Level Context

Level remains above the long-term average

Lake Superior is currently 601.79 ft, 0.74 ft above its long-term average. The lake has fallen 0.17 ft over the past 7 days and 0.31 ft over the past 30 days.

Lake Superior Level Details

Reference elevations, recent daily readings, data sources, and answers to common questions.

Conditions & Reference

Level status

+0.74 ft vs long-term average

Current level
601.79 ft
Long-term avg
601.05 ft
Chart datum (LWD)
601.1 ft
DatumVertical reference for published pool and stage elevations at this lake (from the lake catalog).
IGLD85
Elevation reference
MSL
Source
NOAA

Reference levels

No published reference elevations for this lake.

Surrounding county drought

Abnormally Dry

32.7% of surrounding county in official drought (D1–D4).

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Stable

Surrounding county drought

Keweenaw County, MI

Abnormally Dry

Abnormally Dry. The largest share of Keweenaw County, MI is Abnormally Dry (D0). 32.7% of the county is still in Moderate Drought or worse (D1–D4), which the U.S. Drought Monitor treats as official drought. These figures describe the surrounding county from the lake location, not the lake itself.. Trend: Stable compared with last week. Official drought (D1–D4) yes

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Stable

Compared with last week

Official drought (D1–D4)

Yes

32.7% of the surrounding county is in official drought categories (D1–D4). Dominant category remains Abnormally Dry.

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Oct 6, 2026. Updated weekly. Official drought means U.S. Drought Monitor categories D1–D4 (Moderate through Exceptional). Abnormally Dry (D0) is not counted as official drought. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Keweenaw County, MI

Daily level summary

DateLevelChange
Oct 9, 2026601.82-0.18
Oct 8, 2026602+0.05
Oct 7, 2026601.95+0.01
Oct 6, 2026601.94+0.02
Oct 5, 2026601.92-0.14
Oct 4, 2026602.06+0.13
Oct 3, 2026601.93-0.06

Common questions about Lake Superior’s water level

  • The current water level at Lake Superior is 601.79 ft (updated 3 hours ago). You can track the Lake Superior lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Lake Superior lake level is falling — falling about 0.17 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Based on the latest reading, Lake Superior is currently 0.74 ft above long-term average elevation on Lake Insights.

  • Readings refresh when NOAA / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (coordinated network) publishes new gauge data — typically daily for most reservoirs. The timestamp above the chart shows when the latest observation arrived on Lake Insights.

Lake level glossary

Definitions for pool targets, datums, and how elevation readings are labeled.

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