PELICAN LAKE 2026
February 20 So far the lake has risen 3.6 inches since freezeup. The snow survey done some time between February 16 to 23 shows only about 2 inches. Assuming a normal spring there will be more than enough runoff to fill the lake to the summer target.
March 24 Looks like local inflow has raised the lake to 1351.4. Probably plenty more to come.
March 28 More snow today, the levels continue to rise. The Pembina River, south of the lake, has been flowing for four or five days but might be still some ice in the channel.
April 5 The gauges are not showing reasonable levels. The lake is probably about 1352. Pretty much all creeks are running. Cool weather is keeping things calm.
April 12 - The average of the north and south gauges is 1352.11. The lake has risen about half an inch per day the last 3 days. That's equivalent to an inflow of 5 cubic meters per second or the flow if two outlet gates were almost fully open. From March 22 to April 9 the inflow was fairly steady at 3 cms.
April 27- The lake is still rising slowly, now 1352.52. I had a note here that the levels may be unreliable. I have checked in a variety of ways. I can't find anything wrong.
May 3- Looks like the peak at 1352.59. The ice is just about all gone.
May 15- The area has been subject to very high winds, with gusts about 90 kph the last couple of days. With some rain in the forecast all 3 gates have been opened about 30 inches though debris is restricting the flow.
May 27- Evaporation is probably still modest but increasing with plenty of sunshine. The water temperature has risen from about 9.5 to 13.8 in the past week. The outflow including evaporation adds up to about 3.3 cubic meters per second,equivalent to one gate fully open, so the trash in the fish screens is probably not slowing the outflow very much. For May growing degree days is 80% of normal and precipitation less than 30% of normal.
June 20 - There have been several small showers so the drop has been slow. The level, 1351.74, is equalto the upper decile for this date since 1994. The median level is 1351.5.
There's supposed to be a super El Niño this year. Looking at past super El Niño's, the most recent was 2015-2016. There was nothing very unusual in Manitoba during the summer and in runoff or Peican Lake levels. The winters were a little warmer than usual. So probably not much impact this year but perhaps a warm, dry winter and low runoff next year.
