NASA / MODIS
December 2016 Lake Effect Snow
Lake effect snow pummeled the Keweenaw Peninsula and Sault Ste. Marie areas this week. Some spots received more than 30 inches of snow during the storm.
Snow!
The lake effect snow machine fired up this week and buried huge swaths of the region under more than 2 feet of snow.
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, got anywhere from 51 to 65 centimeters (20 to 26 inches) during the week, “one of the worst snowstorms it’s experienced in a long time,” SooToday reports in a post with photos from around town. The area remains under a snow squall watch today with another 10 to 15 centimeters expected over the weekend. Across Whitefish Bay, Paradise, Michigan, received 30 inches.
The Keweenaw Peninsula was hit hard, too, with 20 to 30 inches at higher elevations. The Fun in the U.P. Facebook page was live during the storm. Watch the intrepid videographer visit the Lake Superior shore at McLain State Park. Fortunately he didn’t get blown into the Lake! Wind gusts at nearby Houghton peaked at 48 mph.
+ The Sault snowstorm closed down much of the city, including the movie theater at Station Mall – which left a lot of Star Wars fans out in the cold for the “Rogue One” premiere.
+ Michigan Tech – in the snowy Keweenaw Peninsula – offers these winter driving tips. Don’t miss the tongue-in-cheek video about turning left in the U.P.
+ Meanwhile, in Duluth, KBJR meteorologist Adam Lorch shared video of the Lake steaming in the cold.
Educating about plastic pollution
Plastic pollutants in the Great Lakes, from obvious culprits like bottles to hidden threats like microbeads, have received much attention in recent years, thanks in part to research by University of Wisconsin-Superior chemistry professor Lorena Rios Mendoza. Her work is now part of a traveling educational exhibit:
An exhibit now on display in the City of Superior Government Center atrium encourages viewers to take an active role in preventing trash from reaching Lake Superior.
The exhibit “Plastic in Lake Superior. That’s Garbage.” features all the plastic collected by University of Wisconsin-Superior professor Dr. Lorena Rios Mendoza and a group of students on Wisconsin Point in only one day in September 2015.
The exhibit was designed by Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve staff.
Final Saturday to Christmas shop in our Outlet Store
The Lake Superior Magazine Outlet Store in downtown Duluth is open for one more Saturday this winter. After tomorrow, Dec. 17, we’re open only on weekdays until Memorial Day weekend. Stop in for your last-minute Christmas shopping!
Revive Isle Royale wolves or not? Your opinion is sought: “The purpose of the draft plan/EIS is to determine whether and how to bring wolves to Isle Royale to function as the apex predator in the near term within a changing and dynamic island ecosystem.” Comments will be accepted until March 15. Just two wolves remain on the island; natural recovery of the population is unlikely, researchers say.
Marquette to discuss Airbnb regulations next month: “A battle may be brewing in Marquette over the increasingly popular Airbnb and VRBO style of bed and breakfasts,” writes Brian Cabell.
A shipwreck story: In the Chronicle Journal, the Thunder Bay Museum tells the story of the SS Lambton, which ran aground during a December 1927 storm. Two sailors perished when Lake Superior bested their survival suits.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative gets new federal funding: The initiative supports many remediation projects in the region. It’ll get $300 million a year for the next five years, writes John Myers for the Duluth News Tribune.
+ John also reported this week on a proposed copper-nickel mine, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which lost its mineral leases on Thursday. Environmentalists praised the decision, while supporters of the mine say the project may still proceed under the incoming federal administration.