Great Lakes 92% ice coverage will have summer long impacts.
Today is April 10th and while most of the country experienced the warmest weather of the spring so far. Lake Superior was still 80% covered in ice. The great lakes as a whole are still 53% covered in ice. There is no doubt it’s going to take a lot longer to melt the ice this spring due to the near record Ice coverage this past winter. The Great lakes had a peak ice coverage of 92.19% on March 5th, 2014. That would mean this winter was the second highest ice coverage on record behind 94.7% in 1979.
Lake Superior April 10, 2014:
Today the Great Lakes still have record ice coverage for this date in early April. This is going to have lingering impacts to those who live in the great lakes region. As the spring sunshine’s heat goes into melting ice. It’s not going into warming the water, ground or the air. This will keep the water temperatures very cold for months and the results could be a year without much of a summer for residents along the shore.
Current Ice Coverage:
Summer Outlook:
So what is this going to mean for the summer? Well if you live in or around the Great Lakes or plan a trip there this summer. Expect it to be much colder than normal. In fact the CFS climate model which helps with long-range forecasting shows this chilly summer outlook quite well.
It’s too early to know what other impacts it could have on the overall pattern and what impact this along with the developing El Nino will have. One thing is for sure swimming in the Great Lakes this summer will be only for the brave of heart!
Hey look it might warm up by September, well not too much.
Other impacts:
the lakes could gain water this summer through condensation. As warm humid air moves north the very chilly water will actually condense water right out of the air. Kind of like a glass of ice water on a hot summer night.
Lots of lake fog is likely as well
Fishing activity might be lower.
May flies might be slightly impacted.
Time will tell this summer and it will be interesting to watch. We haven’t seen the lake this cold since the 1970s so stay tuned!
