PELICAN LAKE 2023
March 1 - Snow cover is modest with about 2 inches of water equivalent. This is in order of 75% of normal for this time of year. So far it doesn't look like runoff will amount to much. The current level is about 1351.1.
March 24 - Not much more snow through March so little change.
April 7 - Snowfall over the last week added about 0.8 inches of water equivalent. warm weather predicted next week will likely start the spring runoff.
April 13 - Much of the snow has melted in the last 3 days. The lake has risen a little due to local runoff. Many roads south of Boissevain have been overtopped. That water goes into the Pembina but there is also likely significant flow in the lake's watershed too.
April 15 - It looks like most creeks have peaked. Gates will be opened a little this weekend.
April 18 - Two of the gates were opened half way yesterday. Total inflow to the lake is about 8.4 cms. Some rain and snow in the forecast.
April 22 - There has been about a foot of snow.
April 29 - The level is 1352.51 and still rising about half an inch per day.
May 2 - Should be the peak close to 1352.65.
May 6 - The level today is 1352.64.. Higher levels occurred on this date in 1970, 74, 76, 97, 2011 and 2017. In 1976 it was a foot higher.
June 1 -The level today is about 1351.91. The lake has been higher on June 1 in 13 years, only 4 years since the project was built despite much higher inflows. The highest was 2011 at 1353.7 and lowest in 1991 at 1346.6 feet. May 2023 was one of the warmest and driest May's on record. Total precipitation was about 17.5 mm and the average temperature about 15.7 C.
June 7 - The gates have been closed. The level. Is 1351.81. The lake has dropped steadily for the last 29 days, on average 0.34 Inches per day. Evaporation was likely near half that and the other half released by the outlet.
September 1 - The level is 1351.07 just slightly above normal for this date since 1994. Rainfall since May 1 was in the 50 to 60% of normal range. The Manitoba Agriculture weather station near Ninette recorded 164 mm, 55% of normal. The total inflow to the lake was about 13500 acre-feet or equivalent to adding about 24 inches to the lake level. This has become normal since 1995 but before that it was only exceeded in 1974 and 1976.
September 20 - In 2023 the rate of evaporation was quite steady from July 1 to September 17 (79 days). The average temperature was about 18.7. The total drop was about 0.91 feet (11351.82 to 1350.91) and total rain about 63 mm (2.5 inches). Therefore evaporation was about 13.4 inches or 0.17 Inches per day. That's about 1.44 cubic meters per second about the same as one gate half open when the lake is at 1351.7.
November 23 Looks like the lake is frozen over, a little later than the normal of November 14. The level is a little low at 1350.72.
December 31 It has been warm and very dry. The level is 1350.77, equal to the median level for this date since 1994.