Last year about this time, Lake Erie was almost completely ice-free. That was attributed mostly to the mild winter brought on by warm ocean currents associated with an 鈥溾�� weather pattern. This year, cooler currents connected with a 鈥淟a Nina鈥� pattern are at work. Gary Garnet, the head meteorologist at the , says a 鈥淟a Nina鈥� winter makes it harder to predict Lake Erie ice cover.
鈥淭hey can range anywhere from being cooler or warmer. Typically, though, when there鈥檚 a La Nina winter we鈥檙e a little bit wetter than normal. So that is the forecast for this winter; temperatures which we would consider a typical winter here in Northeast Ohio with a little bit above normal precipitation.鈥�
Garnet says Lake Erie鈥檚 maximum ice cover comes between February and March. The problem with an ice-free Lake Erie is that when cold wind from the north blows over the open water it can generate heavy lake-effect snow.
