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What happened to Lake Erie's massive ice crack?
Storm-driven waves, warmer air, and strong winds have reduced Lake Erie's ice cover from 96% to 76%, nearly eliminating the 80-mile ice crack, experts say.
- After weeks of heavy ice, the roughly 80-mile crack from Port Burwell, Ontario, to the Cleveland shoreline has nearly vanished as ice cover falls to roughly 76% this winter.
- Wave and wind action have fragmented the ice, aided by rapid temperature swings; storm-driven waves and warmer air significantly ate away at Lake Erie’s ice while strong winds compressed and cracked shore-to-shore ice last week.
- U.S. National Ice Center data show peak coverage reached about 96%, and experts say the middle of Lake Erie can be nearly 100% covered yet remain mobile.
- Reduced solid ice alters shoreline erosion protection and lake-effect snow amounts, while earlier heavy ice slowed commercial shipping operators across the Great Lakes region communities and agencies.
- Rapid weather shifts in shallow Lake Erie have quickly altered fissure patterns as Jonathan Edwards-Opperman noted it's now "less of a crack" with more water, driven by wind and wave action and warmer temperatures over the last week and a half.
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13 Articles
13 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources13
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Center
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources are Center
92% Center
C 92%
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