According to data from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, ice only covered .4% of the U.S. Great Lakes on New Year’s Day.
Scientists say that diminishing ice levels could contribute to erosion in the region as well as changing meteorological patterns.
“We have about 50 years of data,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist James Kessler. “On Jan. 1, the average for today is about 9%.”
However, Kessler went on to say that Great Lakes ice levels below .4% are not unprecedented for the bodies of water this early in the winter.
