GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The recent cold wave accompanied with a relatively light wind has led to a significant increase in the levels of ice across the Great Lakes.
Michigan has recorded twelve consecutive days with temperatures that have been below average. This month, temperatures in Grand Rapids have been running six degrees below average, around seven degrees below average in Milwaukee and eight below average in Chicago.
Map: Month to date temperatures through Feb. 11 across the country.
The cold air combined with a relatively weak wind has led to explosive ice growth across the Great Lakes.
In the beginning of February, there was 22.6 percent ice coverage. As of Feb. 11, ice covered 69.1 percent of the Great Lakes. It’s the second highest ice coverage percentage for Feb. 11 in the past 24 years.
Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Kyle Underwood has shared fantastic photos of the Lake Michigan ice coverage on Twitter. You can follow him at @wx8 for more cool photos.
On Feb.12, it was the clearest day across the Great Lakes region since Jan. 20 with a recorded 91 percent sunshine. It allowed the Modis satellite, which around 22,000 miles above Earth, to take amazing pictures of the ice, snow and clouds.