A recent article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS) titled “Extreme heat. Warmer water. More ticks. Fewer fish. Climate change report brings grim news,” claims that the Great Lakes region is suffering from climate change, especially in the realm of extreme heat and unstable lake water levels. This is false. Heat is not becoming more extreme in the Midwest, nor are the Great Lakes’ levels unusual.
The MJS references a climate change report written by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), which the paper says “brings grim news.” The ELPC is a renewables-promotion organization, that stands against nuclear, coal, and gas, in favor of wind and solar.
The MJS lists several areas of “grim news,” but for the sake of brevity this Climate Realism post will address just a few of them.
The writer of MJS’s story begins her story by saying that people used to consider the Great Lakes region a “climate haven,” protected from extreme weather. This is obvious nonsense. Thousands of people, seasonal snowbirds included, leave that area for sunny places like Florida and Arizona every winter. The region is famous for its “Lake effect,” blizzards and storms. No place is a climate haven. A previous Climate Realism post debunked the same claim made about Asheville, NC, in the aftermath of devastating hurricane-related floods there in 2024. Extreme weather happens everywhere at some time or another, choosing the Midwest, you get hot summers prone to extreme thunderstorms and tornadoes, and winters with severe snow.
The MJS goes on to say that average temperatures have increased in the Midwest since the 1900s, which is true. However, the MJS misses the fact that this trend is not driven by an increase in very hot days. The MJS claims this is the case, saying “dangerously hot days are happening more often,” but this statement is false. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a decline in the number of days experiencing “very hot” conditions since the early part of the 20th century. That goes for Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. (Figure 1 demonstrating this for Wisconsin, for example)
What is happening is there has been a decline in the number of “very cold” days, or days with maximum temperatures of 0°F or lower.
Additionally, nighttime temperatures are trending upwards on average, which the study and MJS admit but misunderstand and ignore the importance of this fact. MJS says higher temperatures both day and night occur “especially in urban heat islands where surfaces like parking lots, sidewalks and streets absorb and hold onto heat.” But that is not a small concession, rather that is the a fundamental point. It is mostly nighttime temperatures that are influenced by UHI, as discussed in detail by meteorologist Anthony Watts over at Climate at a Glance, here.
Oddly, MJS also claims “another alarming trend given extreme nighttime heat can actually be deadlier than daytime heat.” The MJS presents no evidence this is true, because there is none. More importantly it misses a larger point. Cold temperatures are deadlier than heat. If nighttime lows are trending upwards, this should save lives on balance.
Citing the report, MJS also claims that climate change is causing “greater fluctuations in lake levels” and that overall, water levels are rising. This is ironic, in 2013, climate alarmists warned warn that computer models forecasts that Great Lakes would gradually lose water from climate change. And in 2024, the Washington Post warned again of falling Great Lakes water levels. Now, alarmists claim that water levels are rising in general but also see-sawing unnaturally. The truth is there is no consistent trend in water levels on the Great Lakes, nor are they waxing and waning in an unusual fashion. Throughout the limited “official” record of Great Lakes water levels, data show water levels have always varied widely over time.
As a final note, the authors of the study the MJS reports on, the ELPC, released a similar report in 2019. This one predicted that corn and soybean production would crash by mid-century. Since then, as a brief illustration on how flawed the models used by the study’s authors are, Wisconsin corn yields hit an all time high two years running in 2021 and 2022.
The MJS and the ELPC are interested in promoting climate alarmism, they are not interested in accurately reporting the unalarming truth about the Great Lakes region, a truth grounded in hard data that shows no trends in worsening weather or climate induced harms to people in the region. The MJS story is simply bad journalism, and the report it builds its misleading story around isn’t science at all, rather it is propaganda meant to promote a net-zero fossil fuel agenda, favoring the wider forced adoption of ever more wind and solar energy.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Having been raised in Western PA, I’ve seen the Great Lakes numerous times; Lake Erie in 1955. Since then I’ve read of their demise about five times, or is it six? Relatives and friends live within minutes of the Lakes. I get frequent reports.
The Milwaukee writer, Caitlin Looby, has forsaken science for biased journalism. Sad.
“Biased” and “journalism” are two words that don’t belong together. Biased journalism is just propaganda.
I grew up in the UP of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. Any winter with less than 120 inches of snow was considered mild as 200+ inches was pretty common. Anywhere else I have lived since then has been a piece of cake. Hardy people there.
Awesome- I love snow shoeing but not much snow in recent years here in Wokeachusetts. I should get to the UP in winter sometime!
I lived in the UP in ’78-’80. Little did I know then that the winter curiosities of setting the snowfall record and Lake Superior freezing all the way across would be set as essentially the starting point for the satellite temperature starting reference point and all the bad climate science publication mill that followed. Oh and the greatest science policy scam in human history unfolded with budget waste exceeding the cold war, moon walks, and Jimmy Carter energy policy fails combined.
I have posted several times here at WUWT about Milwaukee’s mild winters compared to the ’50s,’60s & ’70s. Since 2000 there have been three years where summer time highs never made it into the ’90s.
Back in the late 70s, I enjoyed a sailboat cruise on Lake Huron. But, it was absolutely terrifying (sarc) when we were at a Canadian harbour and the water level went up about 10 inches in a few hours. And then, the water went down.
We didn’t know what was happening since we knew that there are no tides in the Great Lakes. The locals explained it was just the “squish” or the barometric pressure difference between the US and Canadian sides.
That would be a Seiche. Experienced many of them on Lake Michigan. Always fun in a harbor when it happens. Had one occur while moored in Belmont harbor in Chicago. Water level rose 18” in less than 30 minutes.
Wind and Solar only exist as options when government bureaucrats “Force” them on the proles. With Market driven generation sources in command, Wind and Solar couldn’t compete against Coal, Gas and/or Nuclear due to their inherent inconsistent availability and lack of needed fuel on demand.
You can’t add more wind to a turbine on a still day.
You can’t remove wind during a gale.
You can’t add sunlight at night.
Neither Wind nor Solar can be made to generate during Evening Peak Demand if their Free Fuel is unavailable. And neither can be made to function 24/7/365 without overly expensive and potentially explosive Battery Back-up.
Great picture. ‘Fun’ story.
My family and I were on a quick one week vacation on my beloved Hunter 35.5 sailboat. We were ending it over southeast at South Haven, Michigan final night and had to get back northwest to Racine, Wisconsin final day. So I foolishly took the boat (with reefed sails) out of the harbor breakwater heading wnw into a brisk windy morning, and soon encountered 10 foot Lake Michigan waves on a 30 foot peak to peak spacing thanks to shore wave reflection ‘bathtub’ effects. Needless to say, the bow dug 3 feet of cold blue water right into the aft cockpit with every wave. Safer to plow ahead than turn around. So strapped myself into the helm—with family safe below but heaving sea sick into the bilges—and kept going. By the time we finally got across the lake nearing Racine many long hours later, it was so calm I had to furl the sails and start the engine. They never forgave me. I never forgot that day.
I was born and raised in SE Wisconsin very near Lake Michigan and left at the age of 18. Main reason I left were the bitterly cold winters. After living in various parts of the warmer USA for 30 years, I returned to Wisconsin for a family event in March of 2003. For the ten days I was there, the temperature never reached 0° F. It was so nice going back to warmer Colorado.
Since the Great Lakes won’t be a climate haven anymore does that mean more people will move south to cooler climates like they have been doing for decades?
When people start moving to Winnipeg or Saskatoon to retire then you’ll know is getting too hot.
A couple of years ago I read a story about California “climate refugees” finding sanctuary in Duluth, and I don’t mean Georgia. Been waiting on the followup, but I have the feeling they were back in Orange County by next spring.
Very nice Linnea.