Rainy Lake has surpassed the 1950 record for water levels.
As of press time, the real-time Hydrometric Data at wateroffice.ec.gc.ca showed Rainy lake at 339.289 m and rising. The previous record was set in 1950 at 339.23 m.
The level of Rainy lake is expected to continue to rise by several inches; a peak isn’t expected until mid-June.
On the Rainy River downstream of Fort Frances, levels will decrease slightly but remain well above average for this time of year, and continue to remain high for weeks to come due to the high outflow from Rainy Lake.
Areas experiencing flooding and performing mitigation measures should expect to deal with high water levels for the foreseeable future. Once levels have peaked, it will take a long time (weeks) for levels to decline back to anything close to normal summer levels. On Rainy Lake, it could take 6-8 weeks from the peak until levels fall back to the rule curve levels, based on past high water events, according to the National Weather Service.
