Great Lakes Region Braces for Record-Low Ice Coverage This Winter
Top 5 things you need to know about the great lakes' alarming ice deficit:
- Lake Superior's ice cover is currently at just 0.5% of its historical average, posing serious risks for shipping routes and disrupting the seasonal cycle of aquatic life.
- Scientists are attributing this extreme low to a persistent ridge of warm air stretching over the great lakes, locking in above-freezing temperatures even as polar vortexes hit other parts of the U.S.
- Without thick ice, shoreline communities are facing unprecedented lake-effect snow events, as open water evaporates into moisture that then falls as heavy, localized snow on land.
- For the first time in recorded history, several major commercial ports on the great lakes have extended their normal shipping season into late January, citing no ice restrictions.
- Environmental groups warn that the lack of ice cover destroys the natural "blanket" that protects fish eggs and hibernating species, potentially triggering a collapse in the region's $5 billion fishing industry.