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2.75 trillion gallons of water added to Lake Superior over one-month span

Posted at 7:00 AM, Jul 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-19 09:52:12-04

Heavy rainfall over a one-month span from mid June to mid July has increased the water levels of Lake Superior, according to the National Weather Service.

In a post on their Facebook page on July 13, the NWS said Lake Superior rose about five inches of water from June 13 through July 13. On average, it rises about 3 inches during the same span.

Those five inches equate to about 2.75 trillion additional gallons of water added to the lake.

The heavy rain impacted western portions of the Great Lake. Despite the higher-than-average increase, the water level of Lake Superior is still about 4 inches lower than last year, according to the NWS.

"As long as abnormally wet conditions don’t occur over the basin in the next 2 to 3 months, the water level of Lake Superior will at least be a little lower than last year heading into the fall storm season," the NWS wrote.

Lake Superior is the largest Great Lake and the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It contains as much water as all of the other Great Lakes combined, with its deepest point being more than 1,300 feet. That's about 1/4 of a mile.