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Did Lake Michigan ever freeze over?

Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.



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Those who brave the frigid feat and swim in the winter are nicknamed “ice monsters.” Lake Michigan continuously cools throughout winter, and with March averaging an annual low of 32.9 degrees, it's the chilliest month for open-water swimming. Yet a growing number of people are taking the plunge.

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So yeah, even if Lake Michigan ever kinda-sorta freezes over, don't try crossing it by foot or vehicle. Leave that kind of dangerous travel to the ice balls.

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Though not as warm as the oceans, temperatures of Lake Michigan do rise to the high 60s in July and August to make swimming enjoyable, and definitely refreshing! Rarely do temperatures make it to the 70s, unless air temperatures stay up in the 90's for many continuous days.

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While there have been past “sightings,” most have turned out to be pranks or misidentifications. The reality is that the largest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior and Michigan) are extremely deep lakes that are too cold for sharks.

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Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.

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The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 metres or 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes.

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In records dating from the middle 1800s, even in the coldest winters, Lake Michigan has never completely frozen over. It has been as much as 90 percent or more ice-covered in 1903-04, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1998-99 and 2013-14, but the lake is a massive reservoir of heat that is released only slowly into the air.

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Every fall, the lake experiences a 'turnover' — a mixing of the layers that results in similar temperatures throughout.

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The main body of Lake Tahoe does not freeze. The stored heat in the Lake's massive amount of water compared to its relative surface area prevents the Lake from reaching freezing temperature under the prevailing climatic conditions.

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A north-northeast wind has pushed the warmer surface water along the Michigan shore back toward the middle of Lake Michigan and brought up colder water from well beneath the surface. This process is called upwelling.

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The deepest part of Lake Michigan is over 990 feet. The water at the bottom of that deep pocket is still 39 degrees to 40 degrees.

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Lake Erie is the shallowest, warmest, and most productive of the Great Lakes. Three distinct basins provide a variety of offshore habitats. The Detroit River, Maumee River, and smaller tributaries drain into the western basin, which averages 24 feet deep and contains extremely nutrient-rich water.

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Lake Superior holds a massive volume of water because of its enormous inland basin and the hundreds of rivers that feed it.

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