WEATHER ALERT
What is 'lake-effect snow'? Warm air from large bodies of water is the key ingredient
Read full article: What is 'lake-effect snow'? Warm air from large bodies of water is the key ingredientThe lake-effect snow that has fallen in parts of upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan is the result of cold, moist air that blew over the Great Lakes region.
Lake-effect snow blankets the Great Lakes as Thanksgiving travelers head home
Read full article: Lake-effect snow blankets the Great Lakes as Thanksgiving travelers head homeLake-effect snow blanketed swaths of the U.S. as Thanksgiving travelers journeyed home this holiday weekend, with more snow expected to fall over the Great Lakes region through the week.
Toys, silverware from 1800s? Great Lakes shipwreck explorer takes us back to the past
Read full article: Toys, silverware from 1800s? Great Lakes shipwreck explorer takes us back to the pastThe objects are from a shipwreck located in Lake Michigan that represent a link to life back sometime in the 1800s.
Images highlight just how drastic change in Great Lakes ice coverage has been in recent years
Read full article: Images highlight just how drastic change in Great Lakes ice coverage has been in recent yearsIce coverage for all the Great Lakes was at historical lows, with the coldest of the lakes — Lake Superior — having just 1% ice coverage as of Tuesday. The historical average is 40%.
Fewer fish and more algae? Scientists seek to understand impacts of historic lack of Great Lakes ice
Read full article: Fewer fish and more algae? Scientists seek to understand impacts of historic lack of Great Lakes iceAn unusually warm winter has left the Great Lakes all but devoid of ice and sent scientists scrambling to understand the possible consequences as climate change accelerates.
Do snitches net fishes? Scientists turn invasive carp into traitors to slow their Great Lakes push
Read full article: Do snitches net fishes? Scientists turn invasive carp into traitors to slow their Great Lakes pushState and federal wildlife agencies have developed a new weapon to slow down invasive carp across the Great Lakes region: traitor fish.
Strikers have shut down a vital Great Lakes shipping artery for days, and negotiations are looming
Read full article: Strikers have shut down a vital Great Lakes shipping artery for days, and negotiations are loomingA strike has shut down all shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway, interrupting exports of grain and other goods from Canada and the United States via the Great Lakes to the rest the world.
Sweltering temperatures bring misery to large portion of central US, setting heat records
Read full article: Sweltering temperatures bring misery to large portion of central US, setting heat recordsSweltering temperatures are lingering in a large swath of the central U.S., causing misery from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.
Canadian wildfires are causing the worst air in the US in cities like Chicago and Detroit
Read full article: Canadian wildfires are causing the worst air in the US in cities like Chicago and DetroitDrifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region, and in parts of the central and eastern United States.
Did you know you can ride a submarine in the Great Lakes?
Read full article: Did you know you can ride a submarine in the Great Lakes?If you’ve turned on the news in the last few days, you probably already know about the Titan submersible, a submarine of sorts that has been missing since Sunday after a voyage to the wreckage sight of the Titanic.
High 5! After over 20-hour crossing of Lake Ontario, paddleboarder crosses all 5 Great Lakes
Read full article: High 5! After over 20-hour crossing of Lake Ontario, paddleboarder crosses all 5 Great LakesShoreman left Youngstown, New York at roughly 4 p.m. ET on Friday and finished his trip across Lake Ontario at around 1 p.m. Saturday in Toronto.
1 more to go! Last obstacle might be hardest for disabled paddleboarder looking to cross 5 Great Lakes
Read full article: 1 more to go! Last obstacle might be hardest for disabled paddleboarder looking to cross 5 Great LakesMike Shoreman said he is ready for his final conquest, one he hopes will inspire millions around the world who have struggled with mental health.
He made it! Paddleboarding 28 hours, over 44 miles — now just one Great Lake left to conquer on his quest
Read full article: He made it! Paddleboarding 28 hours, over 44 miles — now just one Great Lake left to conquer on his questIt took nearly 28 hours and more than 44 miles, but a Canadian man is now one step away from completing his quest to cross all five Great Lakes via paddleboard.
Record-setting attempt to paddleboard across all 5 Great Lakes continues this week
Read full article: Record-setting attempt to paddleboard across all 5 Great Lakes continues this weekMike Shoreman will depart from Union Pier, Michigan on Tuesday night, with plans to finish along Chicago’s North Avenue Beach at around noon Wednesday.
Canadian man with disability on mission to cross all 5 Great Lakes by paddleboard
Read full article: Canadian man with disability on mission to cross all 5 Great Lakes by paddleboardAn avid paddleboarder, Mike Shoreman was told he could never paddleboard again. But he didn’t pay attention to that edict and now is trying to make history.
Dredging company to pay $1M for restoration work oil spill
Read full article: Dredging company to pay $1M for restoration work oil spillA Houston dredging company has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine for an oil spill that occurred when a subcontractor cut through a pipeline during Louisiana barrier island restoration work in 2016.
Tapping into uncharted waters: Cruise ship ready to voyage around the Great Lakes
Read full article: Tapping into uncharted waters: Cruise ship ready to voyage around the Great LakesThe Great Lakes are the world’s largest collective bodies of fresh water, and feature many picturesque nature spots, so it always has seemed like a natural area for cruise ships to venture.
Wintry weather disrupts travel across the heartland
Read full article: Wintry weather disrupts travel across the heartlandFreezing rain and drizzle is disrupting travel from Central Texas to the Great Lakes, with ice-glazed roads leading to hundreds of traffic accidents, including one in Kentucky that killed a toddler.
Biden signs stopgap spending bill averting shutdown
Read full article: Biden signs stopgap spending bill averting shutdownPresident Joe Biden has signed a bill granting a three-week extension of government funding and allowing Congress more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year.
The Great Lakes are warmer than they’ve ever been in early November: Why that’s a problem in several ways
Read full article: The Great Lakes are warmer than they’ve ever been in early November: Why that’s a problem in several waysSome parts of the Northern Great Lakes region were greeted by their first significant snowfall of the season earlier this week, but not even the arrival of the fluffy white stuff could mask these historic times for the Great Lakes themselves.
I took the high-speed ferry across Lake Michigan -- and it made for the coolest experience
Read full article: I took the high-speed ferry across Lake Michigan -- and it made for the coolest experienceMaybe you’re in Michigan, with family in Wisconsin (or vice versa). Or perhaps you’re planning some sort of trip across state lines, and you came across the idea of using a ferry to save some time around the Great Lakes.
Why this tugboat depicting an iconic children’s series has been sailing on the Great Lakes all summer
Read full article: Why this tugboat depicting an iconic children’s series has been sailing on the Great Lakes all summerThose along the Great Lakes and rivers near Detroit and Canada have taken notice of a special boat that’s been sailing those waters this summer.
Millions endure record cold without power; at least 20 dead
Read full article: Millions endure record cold without power; at least 20 deadChapman said she has been without power for two nights and is using the propane to keep warm. The worst U.S. power outages were in Texas, affecting more than 2 million homes and businesses. Texas officials said more than 400,000 doses due now will not arrive until at least Wednesday because of the storm. Several cities had record lows: In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station registered minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 39 degrees Celsius). Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dropped to minus 26 Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius).
Michigan approves Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel permits
Read full article: Michigan approves Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel permits(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Michigan's environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. AdThe project requires permits from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We have issued permits designed to ensure that if a tunnel is constructed, it will be in strict compliance with relevant statutes and adhere to stringent protections against impacts to the Great Lakes,” Clark said. State officials emphasized that the tunnel project was a separate legal matter from the dispute over the existing pipeline, which was laid in 1953. It has taken steps to prevent future anchor strikes and says the tunnel project would eliminate that danger.
Deal reached on project to protect lakes from invasive fish
Read full article: Deal reached on project to protect lakes from invasive fishThe two states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will share pre-engineering and design costs for the $858 million project at Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The structure on the Des Plaines River is a choke point between the Illinois River, which is infested with the invasive carp, and Lake Michigan. The next step is developing design and engineering specifications, expected to take three to four years and cost about $28.8 million. Under the new agreement, the Corps will pay $18 million and Michigan $8 million. Government agencies, advocacy groups and others have long debated how to prevent them from reaching the Great Lakes, where scientists say they could out-compete native species for food and habitat.
Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US
Read full article: Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of USBoth feared and revered by people, gray wolves have recovered from near extinction in parts of the country but remain absent from much of their historical range. Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species' long-term survival. “In the early part of the 20th century the gray wolf had essentially become a ghost throughout the United States," Bernhardt said. The decision keeps protections for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. Fish and Wildlife Service would have no say about moving ahead with the plan, if voters approve it.
Regulators deny quick approval of new Great Lakes pipeline
Read full article: Regulators deny quick approval of new Great Lakes pipelineA Michigan regulatory panel refused Tuesday, June 30, 2020, to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Michigan Public Service Commission to relocate a segment of its Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. A Michigan regulatory panel on Tuesday refused to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. The state Public Service Commission's decision involved a proposed replacement for a segment of Enbridge's Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Public Service Commission to relocate the underwater section of Line 5 into the proposed tunnel.
Arctic blast may shatter 300 records before bringing us coldest weather this season so far
Read full article: Arctic blast may shatter 300 records before bringing us coldest weather this season so farJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The coldest temperatures we have seen all season are headed our way behind showers on Tuesday. The Arctic blast of air will lower our temperatures down into the upper 30s and low 40s early Wednesday morning. The cold weather only sticks around for about 24 hours locally. That's according to data from the National Weather Service, which predicts more than 300 record cold temperatures could be tied or set from Monday to Wednesday. Enhanced lake-effect snow is forecast to produce even higher snow totals in the areas where the snow bands set up.
Yearning for a unique getaway? This lighthouse offers overnight stays
Read full article: Yearning for a unique getaway? This lighthouse offers overnight staysHow about escaping to a lighthouse in the middle of the Great Lakes? Right in the middle of Lake Michigan, 7 miles from the nearest shore, is the White Shoal Lighthouse, and it's about to start taking reservations. As of now, dates available for reservation at the lighthouse are Aug. 1, 20, 21, 26 and 27. There is a 13-mile boat trip from Big Stone Bay inside Wilderness State Park, which is 12 miles west of Mackinaw City. An overnight stay will give people approximately 24 hours at the lighthouse.