Watch: Last bits of ice hug Lake Erie shore amid near-record ice melt
Lake Erie only has 1% of ice cover left this winter — its lowest amount since 1998 and second-lowest amount on record.
Watch: Low ice cover on Lake Erie beach reveals sand and shells
A video shot on Crystal Beach, Ontario shows a brown, sandy beach meeting the icy waters of Lake Erie. All five of the lakes are experiencing low ice cover this year. (Courtesy: @fishinniagara / WEATHER TRAKER /TMX)
CRYSTAL BEACH, Ontario – Shot just a few miles west of Buffalo, New York, footage shows a sandy Lake Erie beach meeting lake waters covered in white snow and ice. Several yards out into the water, however, the lake is free of snow and ice.
This thin strip of ice hugging the shores of Crystal Beach, Ontario is one of few such sights on the lake that is usually mostly frozen by this time of year.
At Crystal Beach in Ontario, Canada, a sandy beach meets ice floating in Lake Erie. February 13, 2023.
(@fishinniagara / WEATHER TRAKER / TMX / FOX Weather)
According to NOAA, the ice cover on Lake Erie and all the Great Lakes is currently well below average.
For Lake Erie, the freshwater lake is just 1% frozen when it is normally 70% frozen, according to this site, crediting NOAA data.
That’s the lowest ice cover on Lake Erie since 1998 and the second-lowest on record since records kept in 1973.
Great Lakes ice cover as of February 13, 2023.
(FOX Forecast Center / Getty Images)
For all the Great Lakes, the average amount of ice cover for Feb. 13 between 1973 and 2022 is 41%. But as of Feb. 13, 2023, the amount of ice cover stands at 8%.
GREAT LAKES ICE CONDITIONS UNPREDICTABLE, COAST GUARD WARNS
The satellite image below, taken on Feb. 12, 2023, shows how ice-free the Great Lakes are from space.
Satellite imagery of the Great Lakes taken on Feb. 12, 2023.
(MODIS / NOAA CoastWatch Great Lakes Node / NOAA)
And it doesn’t look like the lake will be adding any ice anytime soon. Long range forecasts continue to indicate overall above average temperatures likely for the next three months.