The north is in for one epic hockey game. The Great Lakes are nearly fully frozen over.
Take a look at these images from NASA. As of Friday, the lakes are almost 90 percent frozen. (Via WEWS)
Just in the last week, ice cover has increased from 79.7 percent to 88.4 percent. (Via NOAA)
And some of the lakes, like Lake Erie seen here, Superior and Huron, are closer to 100 percent iced over. (Via NOAA CoastWatch)
There is an upside. More ice means less evaporation, which causes clouds and leads to snow. So theoretically, there should be less snow. We'll see about that. But it's certainly not the case for the people in Cleveland right now.
They’ve received about 58 inches so far this winter – 13 above normal. WEWS writes it’s “not your imagination. We've been staring at snow for a very long time.”
Not everyone is down on the cold though. Minnesotans are taking advantage of a rare opportunity on the now-frozen Lake Superior.
For the first time in five years, The Star Tribune reports, people are able to walk on the ice to explore the caves on Lake Superior’s south shore.
And you know Canada’s found the silver lining. The Ottawa Citizen reports the ice and snowpack on the Great Lakes will help water levels in the Spring.
“Last year we were setting records for lowest water level in recorded history.” (Via WZZM)
And there is a chance the lakes could set a record this winter. The most ice cover on record came in 1979 when the Great Lakes were 95 percent covered. That said, don’t count on it. (Via The Weather Channel)
According to the Detroit Free Press, the area is going to feel temperatures in the 40s next week. The state’s climatologist says, “Given the warmer weather next week, it may not be in the cards, but it’s way, way above normal.”
