Great Lakes Ice Page

WUWT, perfect! Just when I was wanting to know what the Great Lakes were doing. Voilà here you are with a ‘Great Lakes Ice Page…..

It’s June 5, 2014, and there is still ice on Lake Superior!
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20140604/NEWS01/140604003/Michigan-s-endless-summer-Yes-there-s-still-ice-Lake-Superior

The Marquette Mining-Journal reports that according to some forecasts, the ice may last until July: “To many area residents who suffered through one of the worst winters on record for the area, seeing the ice chunks on the lake every day is a continuing reminder of that wintry grip of Mother Nature, which still has yet to completely loosen,” the paper noted on its website.

The Polar Vortex just keeps on giving:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-fog-thanks-to-polar-vortex-20140627,0,895457.story

If Chicago’s lakefront has felt more like San Francisco lately, that’s one more thing you can blame on the polar vortex.
Chicagoans might have imagined they saw the Golden Gate Bridge rising out of the fog downtown this week. Following several consecutive foggy mornings, Chicago has had 32 hours of fog and low clouds this month — quadruple normal levels, according to the National Weather Service.
The moisture and chilly air are another lingering effect of the past winter, which was the coldest December to March on record, and the third snowiest winter, Senior Meteorologist Gino Izzy said.
Sub-zero temperatures covered a record 93 percent of Lake Michigan with ice this winter. That left the lake colder than ever this far into summer. The mid-lake reading east of Milwaukee was only 40 degrees on Tuesday, compared to an average temperature of 62 for the last week of June.

July 15, 2014, and Lake Michigan is still chilly!! The yellow perch and salmon are enjoying it!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-brutal-winter-lives-on-in-icy-lake-water-temperatures-20140715,0,4173702.story

The cold snap that has descended upon Chicago can be felt most keenly in the water of Lake Michigan, where temperatures are well below normal for mid-summer.
Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Chicago office, said the water off some Chicago beaches is in the upper 50s. That’s quite a bit chillier than the usual summer readings in the 70s, and is a legacy of the brutal winter endured by the region.
Philip Willink, senior research biologist at the Shedd Aquarium, said some fish species that thrive in the cold have made a comeback this year.
“We seem to see a resurgence of the cooler water fish like the yellow perch, and we’ve had one of the best coho salmon years we’ve seen in a long time,” he said.

Ice is already starting to form on Lake Superior.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/ice-visible-lake-superior-weeks-ahead-schedule/story?id=26939239

We have skim ice on inland lakes in Illinois, and the Great Lakes are showing record-early ice buildup.

Ice is already starting to develop on Michigan’s Great Lakes. This is the earliest ice on some of the Great Lakes in at least 40 years.
According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, on November 20, 2014, three of Michigan’s Great Lakes had ice starting to form. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan were one-half percent ice covered, while Lake Huron had one percent ice. Lake Erie was not reporting any ice as of Nov. 20, 2014.
Decent early season ice coverage records date back to 1973. Last Friday was the earliest date that all three Great Lakes already had ice since the better reporting of early season ice began.

http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2014/11/great_lakes_ice_cover_developi.html

The Great Lakes Deep Freeze continues! http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-great-lakes-ice-cover-20150219-story.html

The Siberian Express that’s imported northern Russia’s weather into North America is leading to a second year of fast-growing ice cover on the Great Lakes, setting up the Chicago area for the possibility of another cool spring.
By Wednesday, the Great Lakes were 85.4 percent ice-covered, just above the 85.2 percent on Feb. 18 last year, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. With below-average temperatures predicted for at least the next week, the lakes could approach last year’s levels of 92.5 percent ice cover, the second-highest level since records began in the early 1970s.

Ice coverage on Lake Superior, Huron and Erie is at 95 percent or more, and ice coverage on the Great Lakes was recorded at 88.8 percent Saturday, according to NOAA CoastWatch, which is a little more ice than at this time last year, WZZM reports.
All the ice has made for another unpredictable shipping season in the lower Great Lakes, with some ships requiring icebreaker assistance to make it through, the Observer reported.
Last year went on record as having the second-highest percentage of ice coverage on the Great Lakes since records began in the 1970s, topping out at 92.5 percent on March 6, the Weather Channel notes.
Ice on the lakes delayed the shipping season and kept ice breakers busy last year, which cost the economy more than $700 million and nearly 4,000 jobs, Lake Carriers’ Association said in January, and also forced vessel operators to spend an unexpected $6 million last spring to repair ice damage on their ships.

http://bringmethenews.com/2015/03/01/great-lakes-nearly-covered-in-ice-which-could-mean-another-delayed-shipping-season/

Not much exciting going on with Lake Michigan during this warm ENSO winter, but this is pretty cool, I hope the video and sound open for all viewers!

As the winter ice began to thaw, the cool wind blew the crystalline ice sheet that subsequently formed onto shore, thus creating a magnificent sound that is unexpectedly found in nature. Dec. 21, 2015. (Jukin Media)</blockquote?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/jukinmedia-crystalline-ice-sheet-hit-20151218-premiumvideo.html