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Great Lakes ice coverage increases nearly 5X in less than a month

NOAA says coverage is nearly 50% as of Feb. 15
Posted at 9:52 AM, Feb 16, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-16 09:52:13-05

(WXYZ) — February is when a majority of freezing on the Great Lakes happened, and that is just the case in 2022. Ice coverage has increased significantly, according to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL).

According to the GLERL, total ice coverage on the Great Lakes is at 49.9% as of Feb. 15, 2022. That's up from when it was 11.4% on Jan. 19, 2022.

Ice coverage on all of the lakes has also increased significantly since Feb. 1.

Below is the percentage of ice coverage for each lake on Feb. 1

Lake Superior - 19.5%
Lake Michigan - 24.78%
Lake Huron - 39.71%
Lake Erie - 89.58%
Lake Ontario - 22.36%
Lake St. Clair - 98.97%
Total coverage - 32.59%

Then, here is the coverage for each lake as of Feb. 15

Lake Superior - 43.62%
Lake Michigan - 37.44%
Lake Huron - 62.39%
Lake Erie - 92.85%
Lake Ontario - 21.51%
Lake St. Clair - 99.32%
Total coverage - 49.91%