By DJ Kayser, filling in for Douglas:
While we all may be mentally preparing ourselves for the fact that winter is only weeks away, the Great Lakes certainly aren’t acting like it. Surface water temperatures across all of the Great Lakes are currently running above average, according to data from NOAA CoastWatch. This is something we’ll have to keep an eye on, as it could lead to early-season lake-effect snow events downwind of the Great Lakes once air temperatures get cold enough.
As of Tuesday, Lake Superior was about 4.8 degrees above average — sitting at about 54 degrees vs. the 30-year average of approximately 49.2 degrees.
We’re in for a quiet end to the week and into the weekend. While we will see frosty starts Thursday and Friday mornings, we will have a gradual warming trend — perfect for one more weekend of leaf peeping or heading to the pumpkin patch. There’s the chance we could see a little more of an active pattern into early next week, though models are mixed as to how much rain (if any) we may see.
