It's Beach Season On The Great Lakes But That Doesn't Mean The Ice Is Gone

It's Beach Season On The Great Lakes But That Doesn't Mean The Ice Is Gone

As temperatures swelled into the 80s in much of the upper Great Lakes region over the Memorial Day weekend -- tying previous record highs in some places -- many people headed to the beach.

But something about the whole situation looked more than a little bit… off.

No, your eyes don't deceive you. Those are sunbathers lying on a beach just a handful of feet away from large ice chunks still floating near the southern shores of Lake Superior, namely near Duluth, Minnesota, and Marquette, Michigan.

This winter, the Great Lakes hit a near-record percentage of 92 percent overall ice coverage and it has been anticipated that the impact of that feat on the region's weather will continue to be felt for some time. Just three months ago, Lake Superior looked like this from above:

great lakes

As of Memorial Day, a record-shattering 1.5 percent of the Great Lakes and 4.5 percent of Lake Superior still remained frozen, the Washington Post's Jason Samenow notes.

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