By Ben Warren, Tribune News Service
The long-term cold spell that has settled over Michigan has quickly expanded the ice cover on the Great Lakes and other waterways, forcing vessels to adapt, creating fears of ice jams and providing leisure activities for those wanting to take advantage of the thick ice.
On Friday, a Canadian ice breaker helped to lead a group of tankers through the ice on the Detroit River. The U.S. Coast Guard only has one heavy icebreaker to cover the entire Great Lakes region, so Canadian vessels sometimes help out.
During the weekend, along the St. Clair River in St. Clair County, sheets of ice dominated the river around Marine City and created the threat of ice jams for homeowners along the river, especially those with docks.
Others took to the lakes for activities like ice fishing. At Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown, dozens of ice-fishing tents were visible on the frozen lake. The park is located a short drive south of Detroit and has acres of trails and a golf course. But this time of year, the thick ice near the shores of Lake Erie is a major draw.
Mike Shankelton, 68, of Monroe was fishing out on the ice at the Metropark on Saturday with two friends, Tom Clark of Temperance and Dave Wagenknecht of Ida, both also in their 60s. Shankelton said, “it hasn’t frozen that good for years.”
He added, “The ice is solid in a lot of areas, but you’ve still got to be cautious.”
The ice coverage of the Great Lakes has expanded in January as temperatures have occasionally hit subzero levels in recent weeks.
The total ice cover across the five lakes reached 51% on Saturday, up from 5.5% on Jan. 14, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.
Shankelton’s strategy for staying safe out on the ice is to watch where other people are already walking. When there’s no one else around, he uses a drill to see how deep the ice really is.
Shankelton was looking for perch, but he said, “of course if a walleye wants to bite it, that’s OK too.” He said he preferred to deep fry what he caught to eat.
All of Lake St. Clair is frozen over at this point, according to research lab data, while 95% of Lake Erie is covered with ice and 68% of Lake Huron is covered with ice. The largest Great Lake, Superior, has nearly 40% ice coverage despite being farther north, while Lake Michigan is at 37% and Lake Ontario is at 34%.
While St. Clair is not one of the five official Great Lakes, it is often considered part of the same lake system.
In just the last week, ice coverage in Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Superior has doubled. Across all the lakes, ice coverage has expanded beyond what is typical for this time of the year, and above long-term January averages.
The culprit is what meteorologists call an “Arctic air mass,” which has hovered over much of the eastern United States in recent weeks. That weather pattern is responsible for the below-average temperatures across Michigan through the end of January, according to the National Weather Service.
Typically, ice coverage in the lower lakes peaks in mid-to-late February, while the upper lakes reach maximum coverage between late February and early March.
When Great Lakes ice coverage is higher than normal, it can impact weather patterns across the region: there’s often less lake-effect snow and it takes longer to warm up in the spring, according to the NOAA. This happens because the ice cover prevents water from evaporating, leading to drier conditions. And the ice reflects sunlight, meaning the water underneath remains colder for longer.
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