Northern Wisconsin now in eighth year of long-term drought

Talk about it

There’s a good chance of rain today in northern Wisconsin – but state officials say it will do nothing to ease a drought that’s been taking place for eight years. State climatologist Ed Hopkins says it could rain for weeks, and it would still take a long time for the north to recover.

The national Climate Prediction Center expects the drought conditions to continue at least through the summer. Yesterday, the DNR warned Memorial Day Weekend boaters to use caution on the lakes – so their boats don’t run aground in water that used to be a lot deeper. The Rainbow Flowage in Oneida County is 13-feet shallower than it once was. And Deep Lake in Washburn County no longer lives up to its name, after dropping 15-feet during the eight-year drought.

Kathy DePagter, who owns a rafting resort in Marinette County, tells some people to use the Menominee River instead of the nearby Peshtigo River. That’s because rafts on the shallow Peshtigo can only support one person. Meanwhile, the drought has made the water much clearer, and that poses a problem for some fish. The DNR’s Dave Neuswanger says it’s a lot easier for large-mouth bass to gobble up small walleye – because they can see the fish a lot better. Oak trees have fewer acorns, and experts say old stumps on the exposed shorelines have evidence of up to a century of low water levels.

Tags: outdoors, recreation