Great Lakes Ice To Start Early

The National Weather Service issued their seasonal outlook for ice on the Great Lakes today. The forecast takes an in-depth look at how long shipping channels will likely be able to stay open this season and the current conditions compared to past seasons. Read the full report for youself here: Great Lakes Ice Forecast

Current Water Temperatures for Lake Erie range from the 40's in the shallow western basin, to the mid 50's in deeper parts of the lake.

Below is a chart for Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. Notice its average temp is running very chilly compared to many of the past few years.

According to the report, which is issued out of the NWS Cleveland office, all Great Lakes bouys report water temperatures running below normal: 

WATER TEMPERATURES FROM THE MID-LAKE BUOYS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS
YEARS:

LAKE SUPERIOR
WEST              43   46   41   47   44   45   46   45   41     47
CENTRAL           42   44   44   46   46   43   44   42   41     47
EAST              42   MM   41   44   47   44   45   43   42     48

LAKE MICHIGAN
  NORTH           47   53   45   MM   50   47   49   50   47     54
  SOUTH           46   54   48   55   48   48   53   51   48     56

LAKE HURON
  NORTH           48   49   48   46   49   46   48   49   44     53
  SOUTH           49   56   48   54   53   51   52   51   49     55

LAKE ERIE
  WEST            51   54   45   54   49   53   52   MM   47     56
  CENTRAL         53   57   46   55   53   53   54   55   43     58
  EAST            52   54   48   55   52   53   54   43   49     57