NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on Friday, April 13, 2026, as record snowfall in March and recent rain elevated water levels at the site. Crews were working to restore power to a closed hydroelectric station in northern Michigan as part of efforts to manage the rising water.

The hydroelectric station has been out of service since 2023. DNR crews, utility provider DTE Energy and others were using industrial wire brought from Illinois to help restart the shuttered facility. "It will be put back in service to just move water through the dam," Michigan Department of Natural Resources public information officer Kathleen Lavey said.

Additional pumps were being added to the Cheboygan Dam to help push water toward Lake Huron. "We had crews in place overnight in order to increase the flow of water through the complex," Lavey said. Workers were also bringing a giant crane in to remove the gates of the dam. "Even when the dam is open it helps the water flow when you take them off," she said.

No evacuations have been reported. The Cheboygan County Sheriff's Office said people between the Cheboygan Dam and Lake Huron should prepare a go-bag containing medications, documents and other important items, monitor official updates and be ready to act. A public meeting is planned for Tuesday to update residents and business owners on the situation.

A stalled weather front over the Great Lakes was responsible for the rain over northern Michigan, National Weather Service meteorologist Trent Frey said. A southwest flow across the United States was directing warm, moist air through the stalled front. "A flood watch is in effect for pretty much all of Northern Michigan," Frey said.

Flood warnings were in effect until Sunday for the Cheboygan River Basin. Warnings were also in effect for the Au Sable River and the Manistee River. Flood gates had been opened at the Mio Dam on the Au Sable River in the northeastern Lower Peninsula and at the Tippy Dam on the Manistee River in western Michigan, he said. Flooding concerns also extended to the Sturgeon River in Houghton County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where some areas in Houghton and Keweenaw counties had about 15 to 30 inches of snow on the ground.