The Great Lakes region includes the states and provinces
surrounding the five lakes in North America; lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario
and Superior. The states and provinces surrounding
these lakes include Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Ontario,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
From their westernmost tip near Duluth, Minnesota to the easternmost
point in New York/Ontario, the Great Lakes stretch about one thousand miles
across the United States and Canada. The total shoreline of these five massive
lakes totals over 9,000 miles—longer than the U.S. East and Gulf coasts
combined. The Great Lakes have a combined
surface area of 94,000 square miles (244,000 square kilometers). The water volume, 6 quadrillion gallons (22.7
quadrillion liters), if spread over the continental United States would cover
the country in nearly 10 feet of water.
The Great Lakes constitute the largest freshwater ecosystem
in the world. The water massively affects the land area surrounding the lakes acting
as a heat sink that moderates the temperatures of the surrounding land, cooling
the summers and warming the winters. But the lakes also act like giant
humidifiers, increasing the moisture content of the air. In the winter, this
moisture contributes to heavy snowfall known as “lake effect” snow. During the rest of the year, the moisture
evaporating off of the lakes can produce some of the most powerful storms on
the planet. Severe thunderstorms and
tornadoes are common in this area.
Unusual storm events that resemble tropical cyclones can also form over
the lakes.
For those of us who live here, the weather is as fascinating
and varied as one could ever wish. The
lakes create their own set of conditions that are as unusual as they are
intriguing. It is with that in mind, we
hope this blog can help people learn about the weather around the lakes, and
what resources are available to outdoor enthusiasts to make their activities as
safe and fun as practical.
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