Tag: cold wave

Lake Erie is Nearly 100% Ice-Covered After Great Lakes Region Slammed by Cold Stretch

The Midwest is so cold that even the “Global Warming” jokes froze over.

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From Watts Up With That?

From Legal Insurrection

Map showing ice cover percentages in the Great Lakes, with a color gradient indicating levels from 0% to 100% ice coverage, dated February 10, 2026.

The Midwest is so cold that even the “Global Warming” jokes froze over.

Posted by Leslie Eastman

Weather report showing the ice coverage of the Great Lakes on January 26, 2026, with total coverage at 43%. Ice coverage percentages for each lake are displayed: Superior 30%, Huron 54%, Ontario 31%, Erie 94%, St. Clair 99.9%, and Michigan 35%. A meteorologist is presenting the information.

Last November, we examined a controversial scientific report asserting that a vital Atlantic current could falter within decades, an event they claim could trigger a new Ice Age.

This winter, Lake Erie is experiencing one of its iciest in decades, with ice coverage reported above 95% and the possibility of reaching a rare 100% freeze for the first time since 1996.

As of Feb. 3, 2026, Lake Erie is 94% frozen over, a figure that far exceeds the average ice peak of 65-70%, according to the National Weather Service Cleveland. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory shows that the lake also reached near-100% coverage in 2025 (95.8%), 2018 (95.1%), 2015 (98.1%), 2014 (96.1%) and 2011 (95.8%).

Over the past five years especially, peak ice coverage has swung dramatically, ranging from a high of 94% this winter to just 11% in 2023.

Meteorologists attribute this year’s coverage to the prolonged stretch of extreme cold and this year’s record low temperatures.

According to Alexa Maines, a meteorologist at NWS Cleveland, January held one of the longest cold stretches ever recorded, with eight consecutive days below 20 degrees Fahrenheit from Jan. 24-31. Only two years — 1899 and 1961 — have experienced longer streaks, each lasting nine days.

Check out the massive crack that developed in Lake Erie’s ice sheet. This was driven by strong winds. Crack is just under 100 miles long. pic.twitter.com/l7d5wwTndI

— Max Claypool (@MadMaxClaypool) February 9, 2026

Several factors are contributing to this development, including the lake’s shallowness and a “La Niña” weather pattern.

While recent cold snaps accelerated the freeze, Arnold said Lake Erie icing over this time of year is not unusual.

“It is very shallow compared to the other lakes so that’s why it does end up freezing, or at least the majority of it, over the course of the winter season,” Arnold said. “I wouldn’t call it abnormal for what we’re seeing currently, other than just it peaked a little bit earlier than the historical average.”

Typically, Lake Erie reaches peak ice coverage during mid-to-late February.

The colder conditions are being driven by a mix of factors, including the return of La Niña, a climate pattern that can shift the jet stream and bring colder, stormier weather to the region.

Lake Erie is nearing full ice coverage, something that hasn’t happened since 1996.

In modern records, the lake has only reached 100% ice coverage a few times. Most recently in 1996, and before that in 1979 and 1978, making a full freeze extremely rare, even for the shallowest… pic.twitter.com/0uKdTFPLQT

— I’m From Cleveland (@ImFromCle) February 8, 2026

The other Great Lakes of Michigan aren’t quite as icy. However, they are a bit above average for ice coverage at this time of year.

Lake Superior’s surface was 50% frozen over as of Feb. 9, about a 10 percentage point increase from Sunday, Feb. 8, and the highest percentage of ice cover for the season. The shoreline from Sault Ste Marie to Duluth, Minnesota, and north to Thunder Bay is covered in ice.

On Sunday, Feb. 8, ice on the Great Lakes totaled 54.29%, according to the latest charts by the U.S. National Ice Center. Ice cover dipped slightly to 53.01% coverage on Monday, Feb. 9.

Lake Erie remains nearly completely frozen over — about 95% coverage. Lake St. Clair Lake, which is included in the Great Lakes ice data, located between the St. Clair River and the Detroit River systems, is completely frozen over, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration program.

Lake Huron is nearly three-quarters iced over at 66.64%, down from last week when the total was 77.49%.

Ice is more than 2 feet thick in many places, including along Lake Superior shorelines, Lake Huron’s northern shores, the inner Saginaw Bay, parts of northern Lake Michigan, nearly all of Lake Ontario, and the western portion of Lake Erie, according to U.S. National Ice Center’s thickness map.

After weeks of bone-chilling cold and headlines about record ice, it’s hard not to wonder if that “New Ice Age” theory is inching a little too close for comfort. For now, winter seems determined to overstay its welcome…making even the most skeptical among us start rooting for a little global warming and a more active Sun to hurry things along.

‘Historic’ Snowstorm Impacting Southern States

It is ironic that the day after President Trump essentially moved to nullify U.S. Climate Policy, the coldest and deepest winter storm in over 40 years descends on the country.
When normally hot-headed for “weather is climate change” CNN calls it, you know it’s gonna be big.

From Watts Up With That?

By Anthony Watts

It is ironic that the day after President Trump essentially moved to nullify U.S. Climate Policy, the coldest and deepest winter storm in over 40 years descends on the country.

When normally hot-headed for “weather is climate change” CNN calls it, you know it’s gonna be big.

Winter Storm Warnings have been posted and stretch from the U.S.-Mexico border all the way to Duval County, Florida. Get this: 3-5 Inches of snow is in the forecast for Houston, TX; 2-5″ for New Orleans; and up to 3″ along the west Florida panhandle through Wednesday.

lready there have been reports of snow in the area, along with strong winds and freezing temperatures. In one case posted on Twitter, a swamp airboat was turned into a snowmobile – h/t to “Paul in the heights” on Twitter:

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And it gets more interesting. For example, a Blizzard Warning was issued for the Lake Charles area by the National Weather Service serving New Orleans/Baton Rouge. That’s something you don’t see every day.

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the temperature has dipped to -9°F this morning. This breaks the old daily record low of -6°F set in 1935. 

And it isn’t just Kansas City, much of the nation is seeing new cold records today. Dozens if not hundreds of cold weather records have been set. Over 75% of the US expected to face freezing temperatures this week.

Other interesting examples:

Snow at the University of Houston, where they closed the campus:

The NWS in Jacksonville Florida predicts snow and freezing temperatures:

Further north, in Atlanta, the NWS says:

A Winter Storm Warning and a Winter Weather Advisory are in effect from 10 am Tuesday until 7 am Wednesday. Although the snow accumulations are highest over central (especially west central Georgia) in the Warning area, travel impacts will be the primary concern with ANY snow amount. Expect the afternoon and evening commutes Tuesday to be impacted, as well as Wednesday commutes.

Climate Scientist Dr. David Viner, who once famously bloviated:

However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”.

“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.

…could not be reached for comment. Likely because his blunder has been disappeared from the Internet.

You can bet though, that the usual suspects will start blaming this event on climate change, citing the climate driven excuses “polar vortex” and “weather whiplash”.

Note: Tweets from Chris Martz were used for some elements of this story.

The Cold Truth About Renewable Energy in the Pacific Northwest

Over the weekend I received several messages from Puget Sound Energy to reduce my energy use, both gas and electric, with the implicit threats of potential blackouts

From The Cliff Mass Weather Blog

Over the weekend I received several messages from Puget Sound Energy to reduce my energy use, both gas and electric, with the implicit threats of potential blackouts (see below).

Avista Energy (eastern Washington/Idaho) and other utilities made similar requests from their customers.

The key reasons for the worries?    

The cold weather caused a large increase in energy demand and radically reduced the output of renewables (mainly wind in our region).   For a few hours, there was also a problem with PSE’s gas storage facility south of Olympia.

This blog will describe the situation and why renewable energy tends to plummet just when energy demand is highest.  It is also a warning that politicians and energy activists need to consider.

Let us begin by looking at electricity demand and supplies over the Pacific Northwest for the past week provided by the Bonneville Energy Administration (see below).  The total demand (red line) increased rapidly between January 11 and January 14 (Saturday) as frigid Arctic air moved into the region and remained quite high on Sunday.  Huge demands to keep our homes and buildings warm.

Most of this energy demand was met by hydrogeneration (blue line).  Nuclear energy provided a steady energy source but at a lower level (purple).

But now look at renewables (the green line).  This is nearly entirely winds since solar is extremely low over the Northwest during mid-winter.   

Wind produced about a third of what hydro did before the cold air moved in, increased slightly at gusty northerly winds brought in the cold but collapsed to near zero once the cold air was in place.

To repeat, once cold air moves into the region and demand is at a maximum, winds calm out and renewables are no longer a significant source of energy in the Pacific Northwest.     During summer heatwaves something similar happens:  wind energy collapses during the warmest days.

So you understand this wind collapse issue better, let me show you a series of surface wind maps for the region (actually some highly accurate short-term forecasts of near-surface winds).  When you look at these maps, consider that most of the wind turbines are in eastern WA/Oregon.

At 10 PM last Tuesday, there were some decent winds east of the Cascades (orange, yellow, and red colors).

10 PM Tuesday

Winds and thus wind energy held up on Thursday as strong northerly winds brought in the cold air.

10 PM Thursday

But by 10 PM Saturday, the winds had collapsed over most of the inland regions.

10 PM Saturday

And plummeted even further by 10 PM Sunday.

The winds at Ellensburg, well placed within wind turbine country, tell the story as well.  Plenty of wind when the cold air started to move in but collapsed during the past few days.

This case is not unique. The same thing happens in virtually every cold wave.

So when we need the energy the most–to keep warm– renewable energy will virtually always fail in winter.

And the name thing happens on a national scale…and is happening as I write this.   Below are the national statistics for the past week.

Wind energy (green line) dropped greatly as the cold air settled in over much of the U.S..  The only thing that kept the lights on was the increased use of natural gas (dark yellow line) and coal (red line).

The message of this information is clear.   Renewables such as wind energy are generally not reliable sources of energy in our region during cold wave situations when demand is highest.

Hydrogeneration is extraordinarily valuable and flexible and any suggestions to reduce hydrogenation resources (such as removing the Snake River dams) is highly irresponsible.

Natural gas, a very clean source of heat, is still acutely needed and attempts to reduce supply or to prevent gas heating in buildings are highly irresponsible as well.

And keep in mind that the energy problem will only get worse as the regional population grows and more folks buy electrically powered vehicles. 

Considering the acute deficiencies of renewables in our region (other than hydro) during cold and warm periods, we must take a more serious look at expanding nuclear power.  We can also work on the energy efficiency of our buildings, demand scheduling (such as controllable driers/washers/home thermostats), and better energy storage (although there are no magic bullets on that).

But reality is reality and climate/energy advocates need to understand the underlying problems and refrain from unrealistic demands.