Great Lakes ice currently highest amount for this late date; Superior could have ice still in June

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Mlive.com

Lake Superior is still over 60 percent covered in ice as of yesterday Saturday April 26, 2014. The satellite pictures shown above were the latest I could find that had clear skies and good vision of the ice. These high resolution satellite images come from April 23 and April 24, 2014.

On Wednesday April 23, 2014 Lake Superior had 68 percent ice cover. According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the previous highest amount of ice on that date was in 1979 when there was 38 percent ice cover.

So the ice on Lake Superior is currently almost twice as much as recorded for this late date in the ice season. The records go back to 1973. . .

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2014/04/lake_superior_ice_currently_hi.html#incart_river_default

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What a winter.

[Voice for Peace]

1. global warming denier!!!

not you, the lake.

[laurent]

7. Actually, "global warming" does not mean that everything will become uniformly warmer.

Global warming can stop the flow of the North Atlantic current and thus cause extremely cold climate in Europe, and, I guess, eastern North America.

[Psephos]

8. the Pacific, not the Atlantic, influences winter distortion of the jet stream over N. America

Quite right on European influence from the Atlantic, however.

[happyslug]

10. The Gulf Stream does affect the East Coast

And every so often something gets over the Appalachian Mountains, then it turns back east. Thus Philadelphia get more snow then Pittsburgh.


http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/reports/snowfalltables.html


http://www.weather.gov/ctp/SnowNormals


http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=pbz

Every so often a "Northeasterner" hits the east coast, it rarely gets over the Mountains (One year Bedford County, in the middle of the State, was hit with three feet of snow, we in Johnstown, just over Allegheny Mountain, the tallest mountain till you get to the Rockies, and we had three inches, and Pittsburgh, just 80 miles away received rain.

In most Northeasterners, we in Western Pennsylvania get nothing, the storm goes to New York City and then Boston.

In fact we Western Pennsylvania does get hit with a heavy snowfall, it comes up the Ohio Valley, drops its snow on Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia may be an inch or two, most of the Snow being dumped on the Mountains as the Storm has to lose most of its moisture to get over those mountains.

One good thing about this dual storm pattern, it Permits Penndot to move snow removal trucks from one end of the state to the other in the case of real big storms.

[Psephos]

13. All true, but I was pointing out what causes the jet stream to wobble. :)

Which in turn is what sets up the so-called polar vortex that made this such a hard winter in North America.

That Northward shift happens in the North Pacific, and is due to a complex "decadal" oscillation that moves deep ocean thermal energy latitudinally.

BTW, I always find your posts interesting and well-informed, happyslug.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. And in Alaska spring is approximately 10 days early this year.

I have all kinds of stuff coming up in my gardens that usually don't show up until a week or so into May.

Topsy-turvy world.

[Kaleva]

3. It snowed here where I live in Upper Michigan yesterday.

[Submariner]

4. Ice Fishing season has been extended!!!

those Great Lakers love this stuff. Caching fish, throwing down some beers, and cooking hot dogs in their customized fish hut stoves. Don't listen to their whining, they love this winter stuff.

[longship]

5. That's one helluva sturgeon ya got dere.

You betcha by golly. Got em on a dare devil spoon. Had ta beat im on his head. Coulda lost my leg! Hungry bloke. Good eatin though.

[Godhumor]

6. playing hell with the marine freight business

Vast majority of dry commodities load at head of lakes on the west end of Superior.

[Thor_MN]

9. 72 or 73, I have pictures of my sisters and I standing on chunks of ice from Lake Superior on Jun 1

The last remnants of the Lake ice blew onto the North Shore near Duluth and we stood barefoot on them wearing t-shirts. I was in 3rd or fourth grade. Looks like it's going to be a late year getting the boat into the water.

[CreekDog]

11. Remember when some people complained about "local weather stories"

i wasn't one of them.

wish they'd be consistent.

[Thor_MN]

15. Remember when the "Local weather story" was about a forecast for LA?

It was even labeled as Local on the site. It had no implications other than you might want an umbrella in LA proper.

Now had this been a post from the Duluth News Tribune about the chance of light showers, there would be the consistency you desire.

As is, it doesn't compare, and I didn't post it, so you can take your snark and stuff it.

[Demeter]

12. Sunday I went out on my usual route..first time there was no snow

Piles of the nasty stuff were lurking in the shadows up to Wednesday, when I last checked.

Hey, it hasn't snowed in 2 weeks! So what if the pool is scheduled to open in another 4 weeks?

[OnlinePoker]

14. Very positive news for lake levels

As late as Feb 5th, a DU post was titled "The Great Lakes May be Drying Up".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/112763459

This year, Superior is now 2 inches above average, Erie and Ontario 1 and 4 inches above average respectively. Even Huron/Michigan, while still 9 inches below average is 11 inches higher than the same time last year. They've had below average temps so far this spring and the ice cover has kept a lot of moisture from evaporating which seems to be allowing the lake levels to rebound.

http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/GreatLakesInformation/GreatLakesWaterLevels/WaterLevelForecast/WeeklyGreatLakesWaterLevels.aspx