The ice continues to grow on the Great Lakes. The next few days of below zero temperatures around the Great Lakes should make the ice expand.
But just how close are we to record ice cover on the Great Lakes?
As of Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, The entire Great Lakes system combined had 85.4 percent ice cover. The highest ice cover total on the entire Great Lakes was 94.7 percent in 1979. Decent ice cover record-keeping dates back to 1973.
Some individual lakes are closer to the record.
Lake Superior's satellite image above is pretty amazing. Lake Superior is almost entirely frozen. As of Feb. 23, 2015, Lake Superior was ranked as 95.5 percent covered in ice. The record ice cover for Lake Superior is 100 percent in 1996.
Lake Michigan ice is increasing, but seems to be the one lake that has been keeping ice cover from record proportions. On Feb. 23, 2015, Lake Michigan had 62.5 percent, increasing from 55 percent in just one day. The record ice cover on Lake Michigan was actually set last year at 93.3 percent.
Lake Huron is almost totally frozen over also, with 95.9 percent ice cover. In 1994, Lake Huron reached 98.5 percent ice cover.
Lake Erie has 95.9 percent of its surface covered in ice. Lake Erie has been entirely frozen over in three winters since 1973.
Lake Ontario has 59.9 percent ice coverage as of Feb. 23, 2015. Lake Ontario still has a long way to go to break the record of 85.7 percent ice in 1979.
It's going to be interesting to watch the ice grow in the next two weeks. In looking at the weather data, there really isn't a widespread above freezing temperature pattern expected in the next two weeks. The next few days look brutally cold, and there may even be another outbreak of below zero weather next week.
If you have any questions or comments, please post them below.
MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa has been forecasting Michigan weather for more than 25 years. He's been chief meteorologist at three television news stations in Michigan, and he's an avid gardener and hunter. Email him at mtorregr@mlive.com and find him on Facebook at facebook.com/mark.torregrossa and Twitter @weathermanmark