A Tug‐of‐War Within the Hydrologic Cycle of a Continental Freshwater Basin

The past decade was the wettest on record for much of central and eastern North America. Near beginning this period regional water abundance, however, drought conditions reinforced concerns that high temperatures evapotranspiration foreshadowed a persistent imbalance in hydrologic cycle characterized by loss. These fluctuating were manifest level variability Laurentian Great Lakes, largest system lakes Earth. We show that, during period, two dominant forces acting directly vast surfaces lakes, overlake precipitation evaporation, have evolved differently. More specifically, we find has risen to extraordinary levels, while evaporation diminished rapidly 2014 (coinciding with strong Arctic polar vortex deformation). Our findings offer new perspective impacts competing large freshwater systems an era climate change.