lake michigan

[mikieg]

i am watching in total amazement in the fact that the lake is still not frozen over. mid january!!
it looks soo inviting for sailing. yet i see no sail boats out on her.
wonder if it will make it to spring without freezing? any one ever seen this?

[Barquito]

I'm new to Lake Michigan sailing, but, from what I read the northern lake typically reaches about 80% covered, and the southern lake only 10% covered. Obviously the bays, harbors, and coves would ice over sooner.

Just head over to some of the inland(er) lakes and do some ice boat sailing.

[mikieg]

as a kid i remember the lake being frozen in december. i bet it would take one helluva set of foul weather gear to sail out there today.

[sailortjk1]

Unusually mild winter so far.
Second, even in the coldest of times you will still see open water in a lot of places.

Just wait, one of the most impressive sights you will see in the Southern region where you are during a hard winter is the ice flows that pile up along the Southern Shore Line.

Huge mounds of snow and ice like the atric form an ice shelf. It is very cool and can be very dangerous. I have photos if you want to see them.

[jzk]

Last Jan 1, (2011), there was ice on shore in Chicago, but not on the lake. I remember because I did the polar bear plunge on New Years day stepping down from ice into the lake. By the time of strictly sail at navy pier, there was ice on the lake itself.

[kwaltersmi]

While atypical, it's not unheard of to have so much open water at this time of the year. In fact, there are plenty of shipwreck stories that have their roots in January. The weird thing is that lake levels are predicted to be up for the coming season, despite the apparent lake of snow/ice melt we may have in the months ahead.

[mikieg]

i was down in the park looking at the beach lst week. i noticed the water level was at least 4 feet below the water lines on the fixed docks. what is considered to be "lake levels are going to be up for the next season"?

[KIVALO]

I think the USCG keeps, or used to keep, an Icebreaker up there somewhere in Northern Lake Mich.

Originally Posted by Barquito

I'm new to Lake Michigan sailing, but, from what I read the northern lake typically reaches about 80% covered, and the southern lake only 10% covered. Obviously the bays, harbors, and coves would ice over sooner.

Just head over to some of the inland(er) lakes and do some ice boat sailing.

[kwaltersmi]

Originally Posted by mikieg

i was down in the park looking at the beach lst week. i noticed the water level was at least 4 feet below the water lines on the fixed docks. what is considered to be "lake levels are going to be up for the next season"?

Here's one link stating levels are up from last year: All Great Lakes Higher Than Last Year | WOODTV.com Blogs

You can get all the other juicey details from NOAA here: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory - Great Lakes Water Levels

[sailortjk1]

We took these photos in Jan/Feb of '09. If I remember correct. At the time we took the pic's, it was extremely cold. Right around 0. Wind chills around -20.






As you can see, even in times of extreme cold you will still find lots of open water....