Lake Superior last froze over in 2003. It has now, again, frozen over. The frequency of freeze overs has historically been around once every 20 years. Now, in the last decade, we have seen two freeze overs.
The picture below is a beautiful satellite photo of Lake Superior from yesterday. With the well below freezing temperatures seen over the region Thursday night (-20 F), any isolated open water could have frozen.
The NWS in Marquette MI writes:
Due to the recent cold spell and below normal temperatures for much of the winter of 2008-2009, ice covers nearly all of Lake Superior. Only small areas of open water remain. This image was taken on Tuesday, March 3rd. If arctic air does not return in the next couple of weeks, it is likely that this will be the day of maximum ice cover on Lake Superior for this winter as warmer weather and periods of stronger winds through the end of this week will cause open water areas to expand. Click on the image to view a higher resolution satellite picture (image is large — just under 1mb).
Source:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mqt/?n=lake_superior_ice
h/t to Kevin Klimek
How many folks do you have posting things? You’re getting very interesting articles up faster than I can read them!
So does the lake ever freeze enough to stop boat traffic? Is there some historical record of first / last traffic in a year or first use of ice breakers that can give a long term perspective (pre satellite)?
Basically, how does one interpret the meaning of “frozen big lake”? Perspective?
FWIW, I’ve gotten the source code up for GIStemp from all but STEP2 with some commentary at:
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/gistemp-start_here/
Only the first few bits have explanatory comments yet. This is more aimed at programmer / tech sorts than folks looking for reparté.
While working for the USCG Side Looking Airborne Radar program in 1979 I was priviledged to fly in the C-130 as the SLAR operator for the USCG ICE NAVIGATION CENTER, Cleveland, Oh. We were the first to record all 5 great lakes being frozen over for the 1st time in recorded history.
Probably occurred before but known one at the Ice Nav or Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab had record of it.
Neat stuff, Keep Up The Awesome Work
Mike Brown, USCG Retired
How interesting. And as Lake Superior freezes, a stupid Brit called Pen Hadow
is telling the world [via the BBC] that he is heading for the North Pole and by using carefully chosen words is implying the Arctic Ocean is melting. Does he not understand that due to the earth’s rotation the Arctic Ocean and its ice sheet moves quite dynamically and causes splits and fissures which have absolutely nothing to do with melting ice at this time of the year.
As for Lake Superior I will check with one Al Gore as he seems to know everything about Oceanography. One couldn’t write the Scripp, sorry, script!
Ah, my old neck of the woods… Born and raised next to the mighty Superior. (Fort William Ont.; now Thunder Bay) I can remember walking home from school in winter and having ice form all over the side of me that was facing the lake! My family owned grain elevators in Port Arthur, and I often went out on the lake boats for short hauls to the Sault and points East. I even had a tour of the bridge of the now almost mythical “Fitz”. (Edmund Fitzgerald) I can recall that the lake froze over for miles out from the Lake head nearly every winter back in the mid to late ’60’s. Family back East tells me that things are pretty much back to those days as far as the weather is concerned. Just how many years of weather does one need to make climate? I am told that it’s been getting progressively colder each winter for the past 3 or 4 years.
Nice photo! A keeper fer sure.
Lake Superior, 7 March 2008, All covered with Ice.
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~gumley/modis_gallery/images/LakeSuperior_20030307_1700_250m.jpg
Butcher’s photo, as someone will likely have already observed, is in fact from 2003.
Here is the source of photos –
http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=s&page=1
This is what it looked like on Feb 23rd –
http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.cgi/modis?region=s&page=4&template=sub&image=t1.09054.1635.LakeSuperior.143.250m.jpg
(Large image – allow it to load, then right click “View Image”)
Below freezing temperatures are forecast for Lake Superior for at least the next two weeks.
http://wxmaps.org/pix/temp1.html
Here is a chart that the Canadian Government posted of Lake Superior on 3/5/09:
http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/prods/NAIS25WCT/20090305180000_NAIS25WCT_0004253434.gif
My brother in law wants me to fly back again and do some more ice fishing. There are positive aspects to global cooling caused by AGW and cap-and-trade! Long live the neo-marxist Messiah at 1600 Pensylvania Avenue! (note: sarcasm alert)
markm
Here come the wolves, from Isle Royal to the mainland!
Here are a couple of more sites to check the Great Lakes ice cover:
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/great_lakes/
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/products/gl-ches/index.htm
I am sending a note to our Senator who is big on Carbon Credits
Brian Johnson
I too heard the BBC’s breathless interview with Pen Hadow as he embarked on his journey upon the creaking, buckling arctic ice, towing a radar machine behind the sled in order to measure the thickness (of the ice that is).
But there is nothing stupid about Pen Hadow, a self professed Arctic guide and expert with 20 years of experience behind him.
He has no doubt tired of a lifetime of unending expeditions, and with this final push sees himself remaining the warm side of the Arctic Circle, and as an accredited Climate Expert, joining the AGW gravy train with his hand in all our pockets.
UAH is + 0.35 for Feb.
http://www.drroyspencer.com/latest-global-temperatures/
North Pole Ice Survey trek: Gotta give them credit. I’ve spent several days out in -40 west of Lake Superior and it’s a challenge, to say the least. It’s also beautiful country! They seem to be “keeping their chins up”. I’m skeptical of the manual drilling in view of the physical effort required to pull sleds and just survive. We’ll hope for good data! I have a look each day at: http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/
The entire great lakes region is at 75% coverage right now, the typical average peak ice coverage is 50% for all the lakes. (Canadian Ice page). Currently 4th highest in records from 1973 for March 5th. looks like it ties about 3 other years.
Off topic Spencer’s UAH monthly anomaly has been posted as +0.35, so up 0.04 from January to February.
Factoid: According to a report by Samuel Champlain (founder of Quebec) in 1607-1608 ice lasted on the margins of Lake Superior until June (Lamb, 1995).
That was during the period called The Little Ice Age that brought disaster to Europe and may have been a major cause of the decline in the native populations of North, Central and South America.
Lamb, Hubert H. 1995. Climate History and the Modern World. London: Routledge. pp. 241. ISBN 0415127343.
And at Saulte Ste Marie they say the Soo Locks are opening in 18 days on March 25th. Good luck.
Why is using short term weather as gloating /dreaming / wishing / against all evidence commenting such a popular meme for denying there are effects happening from man’s increasing the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere?
Since that technique has been so often and so thoroughly debunked, doesn’t it fly in the face of logic to continue using it? Especially if the intent is to convince people that there is nothing to consider in all the climate change research. Usually it is only seen in the uninformed letters to the editor….
@ur momisugly E.M.Smith (05:51:22) : So does the lake ever freeze enough to stop boat traffic?
Yes. The Canadian Coast Guard currently has an ice breaker in Lake Erie (which is also frozen over – normal for Erie) breaking some harbour ice in anticipation of vessel traffic expecting to begin in advance of the Welland Canal opening later this month. AFTER the ice is CLEAR in Erie, the vessel will head up to Superior to clear ice for vessel traffic up there. That’s a month or more away…
With both the AMO declining since 2005 and now negative at 0.007 for January 2009 and the PDO negative since Sept 2007 and at -1.4, we have the similar situation that existed in the 1960’s and 1970’s which were characterized by record cold temperatures and generally cooler weather. I972 was the coldest nationally for Canada when average national temperatures were 1.8 degrees lower. If AMO continues to be negative all year around and not just one month then the pattern of colder weather may be a reality for the next 20-30 years and the Great lakes will be frozen quite often like this year and like during previous cold period of 1960-1980. In Canada , AMO seems to affect the east coast more. Ten of the coldest temperatures for the Atlantic Canada between 1948 -2008 happened when the AMO was negative.
PDO affects the rest of CANADA more but especially the west coast. Nine of the 10 coldest years between1948-2008 happened when PDO was negative [like now].
The average for all of Canada is 8 of the coldest 10 years between 1948 and 2008 were when the PDO was negative and 8 of the warmest were when the PDO was positive. So the PDO is one of the main weather makers for Canada as a whole except for perhaps Quebec and the Maritimes.
Impossible. The government climate authorities have declared that February 2009 was warmer than February 2008.
Is this where the missing arctic ice went? The Goreacle must have told Scripps where to find it. Someone should give an award to Gore and Scripps for saving the planet like this.
Spaceweather is reporting a sunspot. From the old solar cycle 23.
AMO went negative in 1964 . PDO had been negative since 1944. The actual period when both were negative was from 1964-1976. Canada had five of the 10 coldest years between 1948 and 2008 during this cold period. PDO did not warm up [to 1.65 annually] until about 1983, so somewhat cooler conditions existed still into the early 1980‘s.
1972- record coldest
1974 -4th coldest
1965-5th coldest
1964—7th coldest
1967- 10 th coldest
1978 – 8th coldest
1982- 3rd coldest
But “cooler” than 2007.
Don’t get too carried away with the AMO dipping into negative territory, folks. That’s about a fifty year cycle that probably won’t go truly negative for another 20 years.