Ice Forecast
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
827
FZUS81 KCLE 062109
ICELIO
Great Lakes Ice Outlook
National Weather Service Cleveland Ohio
409 PM EST Fri Mar 6 2026
Active watches...warnings...and advisories on the Great Lakes can
be found at:
http://www.weather.gov/greatlakes/
5 Day Ice Discussion...
Ice coverage across the region continues to gradually diminish with
total ice coverage near 38 percent. Ice thickness continues to
decrease as above average temperatures impact the region. Looking
specifically at the various waterways and lakes, much of the
southern shore of Lake Superior remains ice covered with extensive
coverage of ice still observed near Sault Ste. Marie and the
Straights of Mackinac. Ice on Lake Michigan continues to be isolated
to the northern portion of the lake, including Green Bay. For Lake
Huron, much of the western portion of the lake remains ice covered
with the thickest ice lingering in Saginaw Bay. Across Lake Erie,
there remains quite a bit of ice with various cracks/opening within
the western and central basins.
Above average temperatures are expected to impact the region through
mid next week which will allow for ice coverage to continue to decay
across the lakes. This will likely result in further fractures
across the ice surface, shifting ice, and overall thickness of the
ice to continue to decrease. Winds through the weekend are expected
to generally be from the west-southwest at 15 to 20 knots. Slightly
higher winds up to 25 knots are possible across portions of Lake
Superior.
The Great Lakes ice analysis products can be found at:
http://usicecenter.gov/Products/GreatLakesHome
and
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/ice/#currentconditions
MAX WIND (KNOTS) AT EACH SITE FOR THE 12 HOUR FCST PERIOD
Location Tonight Sat Sat Night Sun Sun Night
West Superior 350/11 220/17 230/25 240/21 230/20
Mid Superior 350/18 350/17 240/28 250/23 230/23
East Superior 350/19 350/20 220/25 250/23 220/23
North Michigan 240/16 260/16 220/24 220/20 220/19
South Michigan 200/21 220/20 220/22 220/21 210/20
North Huron 190/19 300/22 210/21 220/19 210/20
Mid Huron 190/19 200/19 220/19 220/20 210/19
South Huron 200/21 200/21 220/17 210/19 210/20
West Erie 200/19 220/20 270/16 230/14 210/16
East Erie 190/18 210/19 240/19 240/17 210/15
Central Ontario 160/19 210/20 250/21 240/20 220/16
A full graphical forecast of wind on the Great Lakes can be found at:
http://www.weather.gov/greatlakes/
Temperature Forecasts for Selected Cities
Location 03/07 03/08 03/09 03/10 03/11 03/12
Duluth 30 42 33 53 39 46 26 33 23 37 23 41
Marquette 35 37 28 48 39 48 24 30 23 32 19 35
GreenBay 50 55 33 59 48 62 35 44 30 41 24 42
Milwaukee 55 59 35 57 48 64 39 50 35 44 28 44
Chicago 59 62 39 62 48 66 46 59 41 48 33 46
Muskegon 48 55 35 48 44 55 37 50 35 44 28 42
Alpena 37 59 30 50 42 55 30 37 26 35 21 35
Detroit 46 69 41 59 44 66 46 57 42 53 32 44
Toledo 59 69 41 57 44 68 50 59 44 50 30 44
Cleveland 62 73 41 57 44 66 50 62 44 53 30 41
Buffalo 46 66 39 46 41 60 41 55 41 51 30 39
A full graphical forecast of the Great Lakes forecast temperatures
can be found at http://www.weather.gov/greatlakes/
FREEZING DEGREE DAY ACCUMULATIONS AT SELECTED STATIONS
COMPARED TO NORMAL CALCULATED ON Fri Mar 6:
LOCATION DATE NORMAL CURRENT
----------------------------------------
DULUTH, MN MAR 5 1705 1823
MARQUETTE, MI MAR 5 1484 1557
SAU_S_MAR, MI MAR 5 1202 1399
GREENBAY, WI MAR 5 985 1100
MILWAUKEE, WI MAR 5 467 666
CHICAGO, IL MAR 5 349 408
MUSKEGON, MI MAR 5 320 556
ALPENA, MI MAR 5 892 1081
DETROIT, MI MAR 5 348 588
TOLEDO, OH MAR 5 202 577
CLEVELAND, OH MAR 5 100 456
BUFFALO, NY MAR 5 425 796
NORMAL TEMPS FOR SELECTED LOCATIONS AROUND THE
GREAT LAKES FOR Fri Mar 6
LOCATION HIGH LOW
----------------------------------------------
DULUTH,MN 32 14
MARQUETTE,MI 32 16
GREENBAY,WI 38 20
MILWAUKEE,WI 40 24
CHICAGO,IL 44 27
MUSKEGON,MI 40 25
ALPENA,MI 36 17
DETROIT,MI 43 26
TOLEDO,OH 44 26
CLEVELAND,OH 44 27
BUFFALO,NY 40 24
$$