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**SNIP** Tens of thousands of diving ducks and other waterfowl spend their winters in the southwest part of Lake Michigan each year, said Douglas Stotz, conservation ecologist and ornithologist at the Field Museum. Most years, they fly from places like Canada and Alaska and spend their time here diving for mollusks and fish without major problems. But then came Chicago’s frigid winter, which as recently as last weekend had blanketed about 93 percent of Lake Michigan in ice. Hundreds of waterfowl likely have died as a result, experts say, many more are near starvation and a winter storm — the...

You know it has been a cold winter when some Upper Peninsula cities are breaking records that are over 100 years old. We can talk about the average temperature for the winter months of December, January, and February. That is one way to tell how cold the winter has been. For example, Marquette had an average temperature of 7.5 degrees this winter, which is a new record for Marquette. That does indeed sound cold. But a better way to get a feel for the record cold is to count the number of days below zero. We don't really have a...

<p>Ice breakers fear breakdown as a result of heavy ice.</p>

Several stunning images captured by a Minnesota photographer illustrate just how cold it is at Lake Superior. The pictures taken by Andrew Krueger showed large sheets of ice piled up along the shore as temperatures remained below freezing this week. Scientists from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory said ice coverage was at its highest percentage in 35 years, according to USA Today. “Persistent cold temperatures in the Midwest this winter have almost completely frozen over many of the Great Lakes,” the lab reportedly said in a press release.

Boston Duck Tours could be the latest victim of a frigid­ and stormy winter that’s grounded flights, resulted in a road salt shortage and caused potholes galore. The 20th season of the company’s land-water tours could be delayed due to a frozen Charles River that could ground its fleet of nearly 30 former World War II amphibious vehicles. Boston Duck Tours has stopped ticket sales for its March 17 launch through March 20 — a first for the company — and general manager Cindy Brown said she’ll keep her fingers crossed about opening weekend. “The river is definitely still frozen,”...

The seemingly endless winter dumped a half a foot snow on the ground in parts of the South, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and many areas Tuesday morning saw something even more unusual in March: a blast of arctic air that sent temperatures plummeting into the single digits. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport broke a 141-year-old record low temperature

For the second time in what has been a frigid winter in the Northeastern United States, Niagara falls has come to an icy halt as the six million cubic feet of water that typically flow over the falls every minute has frozen over.

Lake Ontario is the only major holdout, and the forecast there is for extreme cold during the next two weeks. (more images and comments at the link)

During his recent visit to Indonesia, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered 5,957 words on so-called “global warming.” As he told students at Jakarta’s American Cultural Center on February 16: “Terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction — all challenges that know no borders — the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them.” Kerry added, “Climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.” He continued: “The science of climate change is leaping out at us...

MyNorth vidoegrapher Kris Riley trekked a third of a mile to video the two-story high Lake Michigan ice caves off the coast of Leelanau County in Northern Michigan, north of the town of Leland. For days, crowds of awe-struck people have flocked to the shore to explore these magnificent natural formations that tower and arch in rugged glory after one of the coldest, stormiest winters in decades. If you aren’t one of the thousands who have slipped and slid out to this once-in-a-lifetime phenomena, you will want to see this video. And if you did make your way out there,...

(Reuters) - Unusually cold weather will take a bite out of U.S. economic growth this quarter, but a rebound seems likely on the horizon and expectations for stronger growth this year have not changed. Economists estimate that freezing temperatures and the ice and snow storms that have blanketed much of the nation will shave as much as half a percentage point from gross domestic product in the first quarter.That comes on top of the drag from efforts by businesses to sell off bloated inventories and a one-time hit from the expiration of benefits for the long-term unemployed.

But January’s polar vortex changed all that, as frigid temperatures sent prices soaring for thousands of New Jersey customers like Jung, whose alternative energy suppliers purchase electricity on the volatile spot market, which is subject to daily price shifts.

Ancient trees are now emerging for the first time in decades along the Cornish and Welsh coasts after being underwater for thousands of years just off the British shores While scientists have long known of the existence of these forests, geologists have been now able to use radioactive carbon dating on the Mount Bay specimens and discern that forests extended across the entire bay between 4000 to 6000 years ago. This is a time period when human communities in Britain were slowly abandoning hunter gathering lifestyles for farming...

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The National Weather Service says a new Alaska wind chill record of -97 degrees has been set in remote Howard Pass in the Brooks Range. The Weather Service's Facebook page says the threshold was broken at 3:39 p.m. Friday. A temperature of -42 degrees with a sustained northern wind of 71 mph was recorded. Howard Pass is uninhabited. Meteorologist Eddie Zingone in Anchorage said Saturday the area had wind chills of -90 or below for much of the day. Zingone says a National Park Service sensor picked up the reading, and other nearby sensors are rare. The...

In the past few years we have seen a dramatic demonstration of the deadly effects of prolonged cold weather. From Chicago to China, Egypt to Argentina, India to the Antarctic, new low temperature and snowfall records have been set.This has led to severe hardship for millions — and increased death rates.The first half of this year’s Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter season was especially brutal. December 2013 and January 2014 were the third-coldest Decembers and Januaries in the past 30 years averaged over the contiguous 48 United States, with temperatures plummeting to −10°C in Atlanta and −26°C in Chicago. Residents...

NYC mayor defends decision to keep schools open ‘It is absolutely a beautiful day out there’ chancellor says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in January, recording its biggest drop in more than 4-1/2 years, as cold weather disrupted production in the latest indication the economy got off to a weak start this year. Though consumer sentiment was steady in early February, there are worries the persistent and widespread harsh weather could dampen the morale of households, whose budgets are being stretched by soaring heating bills. "The big question is whether the U.S. economy is slowing significantly or whether it is merely going through a soft patch caused by extreme weather. The evidence points to the...

From the bridge of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw, northern Lake Huron looks like a vast, snow-covered field dotted with ice slabs as big as boulders - a battleground for the icebreaker's 58-member crew during one of the roughest winters in memory... As of Thursday, ice cover extended across 88 percent,... At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, the rock-solid cover has allowed around 35,000 visitors to trudge miles over Lake Superior to explore caves featuring dazzling ice formations. It's the first time in five years the lake surface has been firm enough to allow passage.... Coast Guard icebreaker teams,...

The onslaught on Wintry Weather continues this morning. Snow is piling up fast across the Delaware Valley as our monster Nor’easter climbs up the Eastern seaboard. And with the snowfall in the city of Philadelphia Thursday, a 130-year-old record was shattered. For the first time in the city’s history, there have been four 6+ inch snowfalls or more in season. In addition, we are now in the top 5 snowiest winters of all-time. The storm has a history of producing historic snowfall and ice accumulations across the Southern United States and now it is blasting our region with blinding snow,...