Low ice on the Great Lakes this winter
Ice coverage has reached a record low in the Great Lakes for this time of year.
Ice coverage has reached a record low in the Great Lakes for this time of year.
On the afternoon of April 13, 2018, a large wave of water surged across Lake Michigan and flooded the shores of the picturesque beach town of Ludington, Michigan, damaging homes and boat docks, and flooding intake pipes. Thanks to a local citizen’s photos and other data, NOAA scientists reconstructed the event in models and determined this was the first ever documented meteotsunami in the Great Lakes caused by an atmospheric inertia-gravity wave.
From its inception as an experiment to improve forecasts for aviation, to its transition of its final update to NOAA National Weather Service operations, the Global Systems Laboratory’s pioneering High-Resolution Rapid Refresh weather model established a remarkable resume of research accomplishments.
New research by NOAA and partners finds that two species of invasive Asian carp — the bighead carp and silver carp, collectively known as bigheaded carps — could be capable of establishing populations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron and affecting the health of ecologically and economically important fish species such as yellow perch.