After three years of mild winters, we see signs of
a return to normal where winter has some “tooth.” One reason for living
around Lake Superior is its seasonal changes. We certainly don’t live here
to escape the potentials of winter. So we’re trying to figure out how to
predict whether we’ll have a “good” winter (of course, not everyone wants
“good” cold and “good” snows). Here are some methods we’re using to forecast
the coming season:
• Adam Fox, U.S. Corps of Engineers hydrologist, who tracks weather, hopes
for, but won’t predict, a good snow job this year. He jokes that he is
“in sales, not in production.”
• The weather bureau says we’re going to have a “harsher” winter.
• There are the woolly caterpillars. They “fuzz-up” when a good one is
coming. Word is that they have “fuzzed-up.”
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac is saying it will be a more wintry winter
around these parts (but we all know how they hedge a bit on their predictions).
• A few other traditional “indicators” may or may not apply: “when pine
cones close, bad weather is coming;” “a ring around the moon means snow;”
“as many days old as is the moon on the first snow, there will be that
many snowfalls by crop planting time.”
We’re hoping for an abundance of the white stuff. Mild winters have meant
less snow cover than normal. Although it makes for pleasant travel and
glorious wintertime days, it has its drawbacks. For one thing, snowmobiling,
skiing and ice fishing activity have been curtailed. We’ve gotten late
starts on snowfall, weak seasonal precipitation and early melts in the
spring. When it comes to ice, many inland lakes have frozen late and thawed
early, again limiting activity. Lake Superior itself has not gotten the
ice cover it normally has by late January.
This causes problems other than just no recreation. In the past decade,
winter around Lake Superior has become commercially viable. More resorts
stay open all season, new business has developed (such as adventure tours)
and good winter ice cover means the lake levels will be maintained for
shipping. Ice is essential to keep water from evaporating during the winter.
The major reason for low water levels in the Great Lakes is the lack of
ice cover. Low water equates to reduced shipping leading to a poorer economy.
A good freeze this year would go a long way to help remedy the situation.
With the absence of El Niño and La Niña this year, the promise
of a spectacular Lake Superior winter is exciting. If you’ve been recreating
in those comfortable climes for a few years, it may be the time to make
plans to take in the lake. Whether it’s winter sport or just knowing that
you can sit by the fire while the weather gods blow outside, Lake Superior
is where it’s going to be. We hope to see you here.
Paul L. Hayden
Editor
|
