Correction: Corrected September 17, 2026: the water-level paragraph now reports the archived NOAA station observations and their limits. Unsupported navigation implications were withdrawn. NOAA measurement context.
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Two big lakers worked the Keweenaw passage through the night and are bearing down on the Soo this Labor Day morning, with the counter-traffic running the other way.
The Edwin H. Gott last reported at 11:41 p.m. Sunday, locking ETA 11:29 a.m. today. The Blacky checked in at 1:50 a.m. Monday, ETA 1:55 p.m. The Gott leads the Blacky by better than two hours at the chamber. Both are downbound.
The American Century is running the opposite lane. Last reported upbound between Detour and the Soo at 3:45 a.m. with a locks ETA of 7:11 a.m., she clears onto Superior as the Gott and the Blacky come out. Three vessels, same bottleneck, opposite headings, same morning window.
The Lee A. Tregurtha was reported upbound at the Soo locks at 3:17 a.m. with an ETA of 3:27 a.m., pressing north after a long overnight run through the Straits. The Lake Superior gale watch, in effect from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening per NWS, gives every upbound vessel clearing the Soo today a reason to keep moving.
The Herbert C. Jackson and the CSL Assiniboine were running downbound in close company on the St. Clair River at first light. The Jackson last reported at 4:32 a.m. with a Port Huron ETA of 5:33 a.m.; the Assiniboine at 4:59 a.m. with a Port Huron ETA of 5:56 a.m. Two boats, same downbound lane, twenty-three minutes apart.
Running the opposite direction in the same pre-dawn stretch: American Courage was upbound out of Algonac at 4:25 a.m., and American Integrity was at Crib Light at 3:57 a.m. with a Port Huron ETA of 7:32 a.m. Four vessels threading the same river corridor inside three hours.
Algoma Buffalo cleared outbound at Port Weller on the Welland Canal at 4:59 a.m. Monday, the freshest movement from that waterway this morning.
At Sandusky, the port report dated September 7 shows CSL Niagara arrived for coal at Norfolk Southern. At Toledo, Stenheim was at George Gradel and Federal Yukina at Midwest Terminals; Wilf Seymour/Alouette Spirit moved downriver to ADM.
Archived NOAA station observations: Lake Superior, Sault Ste. Marie (NOAA station 9076027): 1.581 feet relative to local Low Water Datum, observed 2026-09-06 23:54 local standard time. Lake Michigan, Chicago (NOAA station 9087031): 2.09 feet relative to local Low Water Datum, observed 2026-09-06 23:54 local standard time. Lake Huron, Harbor Beach, MI (NOAA station 9075002): 2.07 feet relative to local Low Water Datum, observed 2026-09-06 23:54 local standard time. Lake Erie, Cleveland (NOAA station 9063053): 3.025 feet relative to local Low Water Datum, observed 2026-09-06 23:54 local standard time. Lake Ontario, Rochester, NY (NOAA station 9052030): 3.284 feet relative to local Low Water Datum, observed 2026-09-06 23:54 local standard time. These are individual gauge readings, not lake-wide averages or channel depths. They do not establish vessel clearance, cargo limits or comparative navigability.
The NWS has a gale watch in effect on Lake Superior from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening. Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario are under high pressure today with wave heights around one to two feet and light conditions through this evening. Lake Huron sees a low approach Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. The window is open now; it closes from the northwest first.
A life ring from the railroad car ferry S.S. Milwaukee turned up at a rummage sale in Manistee. The Milwaukee departed that Wisconsin port on October 22, 1929, carrying railroad cars toward Grand Haven when a Lake Michigan storm swamped her. All 52 aboard were lost, and no survivors reached shore. The ring is now held by the organization that cares for the S.S. City of Milwaukee, the successor ferry and a museum ship permanently docked in Manistee, nearly a century after the wreck went down.