It's Late January, And 2.4% Of The Great Lakes Are Covered W. Ice - Up From Record Low Last Week
It’s late January, and 2.4 percent of the surface area of the Great Lakes is covered with ice. A fifth or more of the lakes would ordinarily be coated in ice, but ice coverage right now is hovering near a record low for this time of year. A record was achieved last week when just 1.8 percent of the lakes were covered in ice.
There’s not much to suggest that’s about to change soon, with water temperatures well above average and relatively mild weather likely to stick around at least into February.
On Lake Erie, typically the most prone to significant freeze, only about 3 percent of the lake surface is covered by ice. That’s an uptick from the near-zero ice coverage that has persisted virtually the entire season. The end of December featured a bit of ice developing, but it quickly broke up and melted.
Lake Ontario, meanwhile, is hovering at just above 1 percent ice coverage, while Lake Michigan, doubling that, still only sits a tad over 2 percent. “Ice coverage is definitely below normal,” said James Kessler, a physical scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, in an interview.
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EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/01/22/great-lakes-ice-coverage/
