Posted on 04/25/2014 2:08:40 AM PDT by Libloather
Spring seems to be taking forever to arrive, but we are not really seeing the worst of the late spring.
The Great Lakes, and Lake Superior is holding on to their ice. As a result the freighters that normally travel the Great Lakes are having their fair share of problems. This has been a very long winter season, beginning with the Great Lakes freezing on December 6th, not allowing Northwest Indiana steel mills to stockpile materials. Glen Nekvasil, vice president for Lake Carriers' Association explained that lake freighters are struggling to make the voyage across Lake Superior despite the thick shelf ice and windrows of up to 14-feet-tall. Those delays caused Gary Works to run at reduced capacity. "This is the worst winter since 1993 or 1994," Nekvasil said. "The last time ice breakers were out this late in the season convoying vessles was 1996. It's been a very brutal winter."
Closer to home, Essar Steel is receiving freighter shipments of coal from the south, however iron ore from Duluth/Superior are being delayed. Essar Steel is receiving ore via rail.
(Excerpt) Read more at wawa-news.com ...
Ice coverage on April 20th, 2014.
Ice coverage on April 21st, 2014.
It is still snowing up here in the UP of Michigan. Next week snow predicted Mon and Tues. 5 inches on the ground from last nights dusting. Looks like summer will be here around July 4th. Do not laugh it has snowed in July in the UP of MI!
“The Great Lakes, and Lake Superior is holding on to their ice.”
What a sentence!!
I still can’t believe you scan the Wawa News.
It was one of the latest stories I found on Google. BTW, I blame Canada for this whole mess.
Joe Bastardi has been all over this...
Lake Michigan’s freeze this year was, as one might expect, very impressive. The last time I’d been out (before yesterday) was in February, and on that day there were more people at the beach in Grand Haven than there are most summer days. People had tables and chairs out on the frozen Lake, out past the end of the pier (!), and were having lunch, or brunch, drinking wine (hey, it’s okay, isn’t that international waters? ;’), etc. Drove along there yesterday, the river was no longer the great white way, and the lake is entirely ice-free. The earthmovers are out there clearing the driftwood and such (generally the winter brings in or uncovers the large remains of dead trees for example) and recycling the sand, to get the state park in shape. Something about that made me realize that, finally, winter is over.
Thanks Libloather.
'despite'?
Oh great. We’re going to a cottage in Michigan for 4 days, starting May 8th. I guess I should be packing my boots.
“This has been a very long winter season, beginning with the Great Lakes freezing on December 6th, not allowing Northwest Indiana steel mills to stockpile materials.”
How’s that “Just-In-Time” crap from the Japanese feel now?
“Gaia” seems to be getting very chilly about her global warming.
It works great until God throws in a monkey wrench.
The opening of walleye season is a Minnesota High Holy Day which starts around the middle of May. Anyone who’s been around for a bunch of them knows there will be years when there will still be ice floating around on the lakes.
Of course, out in the northwoods, it can be 39 degrees the morning of the Fourth of July.
This, of course, is the result of global WARMIN! /sarc
oh wait, Climate CHANGE! /sarc (nope, still frozen, no change here)
SOLAR MAUNDER MINIMUM!
“Were at the sunspot maximum of Cycle 24. Its the smallest sunspot cycle in 100 years and the third in a trend of diminishing sunspot cycles. So, Cycle 25 could likely be smaller than Cycle 24.
“during the 1645 1715 Maunder Minimum itself, sunspots basically disappeared and as documented in paintings from the era, Northern Europe suffered unusually cold winter temperatures.”
“If were entering a Maunder Minimum, it could persist until the 2080s, said Giampapa, who points out that if such a minimums primary effect is cooling, it could wreak havoc by curtailing agricultural growing seasons which, for instance, could lead to lower wheat production in breadbasket economies”
I drove by Lake Michigan at Petoskey yesterday and took photos of the still frozen lake.
“It works great until God throws in a monkey wrench.”
...or the unions.
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