LAKE ERIE (WSMV) – A massive crack in Lake Erie was captured by satellite on Sunday. GOES-East imagery revealed the roughly 80-mile-long fracture stretching from Port Burwell, Canada, to near Cleveland, Ohio.
Ice fracturing across the Great Lakes is not uncommon, but the scale of this break is breathtaking — especially when viewed from space. Large cracks typically form as a result of fluctuating temperatures and shifting winds, which place stress on the frozen surface.
Lake Erie is currently about 95% ice-covered. If the lake were to reach 100% ice cover, it would mark only the third time on record. Ice cover records for the Great Lakes date back to 1973.
On Feb. 4, NOAA said that ice cover across the entire Great Lakes had reached 51%, just weeks after ice levels in the massive bodies of water were at or below average.
“The recent Arctic blast of below normal cold temperatures, also affecting other portions of the eastern U.S., has caused these ice levels to grow quickly, leaping from overall ice coverage on the combined lakes of 5% on January 14 to 51% on January 31.”
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