General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 42 years ago today: The gales of November came crashing [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,914 posts)that during my life here in PA (SE PA), I had been taught in school about Lake Erie and it being PA's "Great Lake". But because it was literally on the opposite end of the state from where I was, I never saw it until decades later when I finally got to see it from the Cleveland, OH side when visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. And Erie is one of the "smaller" ones but was still huge, as you couldn't see anything but water past the horizon. Similarly I saw Lake Michigan while in Chicago several times - a true huge one where the water is endless past the horizon.
Those lakes very much impact the climate here in the northeast and upper mid-atlantic states and agree they demand respect. I am just over an hour by car from the Atlantic ocean and wouldn't hesitate to compare the two (not counting freshwater vs salt water).