February 5, 2021 - Ice on the Great Lakes

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   Ice on the Great Lakes
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   After recording the second-lowest ice cover across the Great Lakes in
   January, a frigid cold snap at the close of the month brought
   increasing ice by early February 2021. The average ice cover for the
   Great Lakes in January 2021 was reported at just 4.4%, which comes
   close to the record low set for the month in 2002, when only 4.08% of
   the lakes were under ice. After a week-long cold snap, however, the
   National Weather Service reported total ice coverage of 11.5% as of
   February 3. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great
   Lakes Environmental Research Lab (NOAA GLERL) has forecast that the
   maximum ice coverage for the 2020-2021 winter will peak at about 30
   percent—substantially lower than the average of 53 percent.

   Although ice may be scarce over much of the region, in some areas where
   it exists-such as Lake St. Clair—it has proven impactful. Located
   between Lake Erie to the south and Lake Huron (north), shallow Lake St.
   Clair has an average depth of just 11 feet (3.4 meters). It freezes
   more quickly than the deeper Great Lakes and by February 3 was about 90
   percent ice-covered. Water from Lake Huron flows into Lake St. Clair
   through the St. Clair River—except when the flow is impeded by ice
   jams.

   As ice coverage increased over the northern portion of the lake as well
   as on the river, winds blew northward. This pushed lake ice into the
   south-flowing river ice, creating a large ice jam. Since ice jams
   basically act like dams and obstruct river flow, long-lasting ice jams
   can cause significant flooding. Rising waters have caused flooding from
   Algonac to Port Huron since February 1. US Coast Guard and Canadian ice
   breaking ships have been working to bring relief by crumbing ice jams
   and restoring the flow of water into Lake St. Clair.

   The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
   NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of ice across parts
   of the Great Lakes on February 3. Lake St. Clair sits in the center of
   the image, with Lake Huron to the north and Lake Erie in the south.
   Saginaw Bay, the southern tip of Lake Michigan, can be seen in the
   northwest. The floodwaters of the St. Clair River are largely obscured
   by cloud cover.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 2/3/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (29.5 KB),  500m (100.6 KB),  250m (286.7
   KB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-02-05
 
