Ice Coverage is Almost Non-existent Across the Great Lakes

2024-Feb-25

Ice Coverage is Almost Non-existent Across the Great Lakes

February 22 usually marks the statistical peak of ice cover on the Great Lakes, but this winter February ice coverage remains at record low levels. As of February 11, 2024 researchers at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) measured Great Lakes ice coverage at 2.7%.

Coverage on each of the lakes was measured as follows:

Lake Superior 1.7 %
Lake Michigan 2.6 %
Lake Huron 5.9 %
Lake Erie 0.05 %
Lake Ontario 1.7 %

GLERL’s scientist have not seen ice levels this low in mid-February since record keeping began in 1973.

Warmer temperatures in December, which is considered a “priming” month, and no major cold snaps means that ice formation did not pick up in January and has been non-existent so far in February. The current season maximum ice coverage is just over 16 percent across the lakes. That peak ice was recorded on January 22 2024. Since then, ice coverage has steadily fallen into never-before-recorded levels for mid-February. As of February 15, 2024, Lake Erie was completely ice free and Lake Ontario had less than 1 percent ice coverage.

Graph showing seasonal ice coverage across the Great Lakes compared to the average. The dashed line is the historical average of ice cover, the light gray lines are each season of data from 1973 to 2023, and the blue line is this season’s data through February 15, 2024 – NOAA

What does this mean?

The immediate impacts of low ice cover are dire for businesses and recreational pursuits that rely on ice. Unpredictable, unstable lake ice can also pose an increased safety hazard.

Satellite image of Georgian Bay ice cover – Feb 25, 2024

Low great lakes ice cover can lead to higher evaporation rates which can influence water levels and lake-effect snow and rain.

Thick ice protects shorelines from winter storms and wave action. So thin ice, or no ice, makes shorelines susceptible to erosion and damage.

From an ecological standpoint, ice plays an important role in regulating many biological processes. Ice coverage helps phytoplankton grow more resilient and some fish species also use the ice for protection from predators during spawning season. Increased precipitation can also increase nutrient runoff creating favourable conditions for algae blooms.

There are some great reads about Great Lakes ice coverage here:

2024-Feb-25

Ice Coverage is Almost Non-existent Across the Great Lakes

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