Lake of the Woods is finally on the cusp of dropping below 2014 flood levels, after months of sustained high water levels across the region.
Staff with the Lake of the Woods Control Board say with a lack of precipitation in the area, water levels on Lake of the Woods dropped by 4” over the past week, bringing the current level to 323.86 metres.
While that’s still over the 95th percentile level for this time of the year, levels are nearing the 2014 peak of 323.78 metres set in 2014, and Lake of the Woods is now about 1.5’ away from the peak record of 324.31 m set in July of 1950 – which surprisingly, we didn’t break this summer.
And that’s before the lake drops another 6” or so over the next week, with Control Board staff saying levels are set to drop by about 7” below the Norman Dam and by about 5” in Minaki.
Elsewhere, the current level of Lac Seul is reported to be 356.67 m after dropping by 2” over the last week, and it’s expected to drop by another 2-3” over the coming days.
Flooding in the region reached record levels due to heavy spring precipitation and a late snowmelt this spring. According to Environment Canada, Northwestern Ontario saw 312 per cent more precipitation in April and May 2022 compared to last year, before a dry June.
This year’s been a whirlwind for water levels compared to 2021, when the LWCB says the region saw the driest year on record since 1961 with about half of the average amount of annual precipitation. This, as well as a dry end to 2020, led to shallow water levels last summer.