The Great Lakes have experienced a significant decrease in ice coverage, reaching historic lows for February. This trend is attributed to the influence of El Niño and warmer winters across North America. Satellite monitoring, which began in 1973, has shown that only 2.99% of the lakes were covered in ice, marking the lowest February coverage ever recorded since 1973. January's average ice cover was also notably low at just 6%. The current ice coverage for the Great Lakes is less than 3%, with Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron at historic lows, while Erie and Ontario are tied with previous historic lows. Lake Superior's ice coverage stands at 1.7%, Lake Michigan at 2.6%, Lake Huron at 5.9%, Lake Erie at 0.05%, and Lake Ontario at 1.7%. This unprecedented reduction in ice cover has been described as a "lost winter" in the Midwest, with scarce snow and record-warm temperatures. Notably, Lake Erie's historical average ice cover for mid-February is around 60%, highlighting the drastic reduction to 0.05%.
Ice on Lake Michigan falls to historic low https://t.co/cI2kIwfjGl via @ABC57News #ClimateMatters
Barely any ice on the Great Lakes in mid-February https://t.co/G18i2wNtf4
In mid February, Lake Erie's historical average ice cover comes in around 60%. Current ice cover? 0.05%. https://t.co/VKniFxk1MC
Great Lakes experiencing decades-long decrease in ice cover https://t.co/kNGkkMcu1l via @bignewsnetwork #ClimateMatters
The #GreatLakes have historically low ice coverage this year. Learn more from @NOAA_GLERL via https://t.co/JzNoEDzuhF https://t.co/HWv8PgIjnX
🧵In-depth -- It's a "lost winter" in the Midwest as Great Lakes ice is at all-time lows, snow is scarce and temperatures are the warmest on record. Ian Livingston reports in-depth what's been happening... ⬇️ https://t.co/eUGIptW1QW 1/
Virtually NO ice on the open waters of the Great Lakes in mid-February, unprecedented since data was archived back to 1973. @foxweather @NWSBUFFALO 1/3 https://t.co/cmJGPkLOOG
📢: @noaa_glerl has reported a steady decrease in ice coverage across the #GreatLakes, which has reached a historic low Ice coverage was measured at: Lake Superior 1.7 % Lake Michigan 2.6 % Lake Huron 5.9 % Lake Erie 0.05 % Lake Ontario 1.7 % Learn more: https://t.co/grVE466sBK https://t.co/ZoaUEGFUUW
Wow that is crazy low ice cover for the Great lakes. https://t.co/xdnlTwU41f
We've seen a steady decrease in #GreatLakes ice cover in recent weeks & we are now at a historic low for mid-Feb. Current GL ice cover is at less than 3%! Lakes Superior, Michigan & Huron are all at historic lows; Erie & Ontario are tied w/ historic lows. https://t.co/YrIG39u7qE https://t.co/QylnRtQXI1
By me: Great Lakes average ice cover was just 6% in January, one of lowest levels ever recorded https://t.co/PA0zIbEJdP
My latest for TWN covers the historically low ice coverage across the Great Lakes this month. Only 2.99% of the lakes were covered in ice today. That's the lowest ever seen in February since regular satellite monitoring began in 1973. https://t.co/CeExfC4INj
Sunday’s ice coverage across the Great Lakes fell to a historic low for the month of February, a victim of El Niño’s broad influence and ever-warming winters across North America. #ONStorm https://t.co/8yuNYX421K