Last year Jon Jacobson sent us a nice shot of Tehquamenon Falls, and he's back this year with a winter view of the Munising Falls. Lots of his shots from the U.P. can be found at PictureMichigan.

Neat pic! If you just look at the bottom of it, it almost looks like a geyser. Kinda breezy here in Cornell, my bird feeders are just a-swingin'.

That picture reminds me of the winter of '78-'79. It was a very cold winter with a lot of snow! In fact I think it was the first time that Lake Superior had ever completely frozen over. When I visited Munising Falls in late January of that winter the water was flowing inside a column of ice that measured about 25 or 30 feet across at the base and went all the way to the top of the cliff. It was spectacular. If I remember correctly, that winter was also the most snow ever recorded in a winter at Copper Country...

I do believe Superior has frozen over many times -just not real often. Does anyone have any statistics?

What a wonderful shot! I am surprised that it has been cold enough to build up that much ice. I'm jealous--would love to see the sights of Upper Michigan in the winter again. I enjoy my yearly summer visits, but the winters are truly special, as evidenced in pictures like this.

Do some research and let us know, Suze!!

PS: The picture of Tehquamenon is one of my absolute favorites of the pasty cam pictures (even mine :) Some day I hope to spend some time at your end of the "yoop" admiring the waterfalls.

I love it when Superior freezes over. Then it's fun to tell people that it is "too cold to snow" without the lake effect snow. Didn't it freeze over in 1994-1995?

I believe Dan was close, I think it was the winter of 1993-1994 the last time the lake froze-over completely. I left the following summer for Louisiana and have only been back during the summer months. I don't think it has again since then. I would also like to know if there are any stats. If I remember corectly it was so cold that Winter a water main in Hancock (8 feet in the ground) froze and broke. By-the-way it was 79 degrees here today.

Just Awesome!!

I thought it was 94-95 when the Lake froze over and sewers/water mains were freezing and breaking. Didn't Clinton declare it a Federal Disaster Area and earmark funds for it? I remember it was darn cold, we lost water and our sewer was backed up for several days while the city worked on it under Tezecuco St. uhg. Ice was especially thick on Keweenaw Bay but the fishing was awsome that winter. Caught my limit every time out:)

My husband and I moved here in July '95; it was that winter ('95/'96) which he was able to fish 14 miles out on the lake from the Portage Entry Lighthouse. He brought me back to Florida for two weeks in April '96 so I wouldn't run away alone from the cold and snow!

I just received my 2002 Lake Superior Travel Guide in the mail which was written by the Lake Superior Magazine folks. There is an article on Page 10 titled 'Did You Know That Lake Superior:' that lists many facts about the lake. The very last sentence on Page 10 says...'The last, very short (hours) "complete" freeze of its surface was in 1979'. Food for thought!

I have never heard of Lake superior
ever freezing over. I thought that big
monster was too big to do that. I grew up
in the U.P. and was there for the huge storm
that eventually joined forces with
The Perfect Storm. (1991)
How could something that big "really" freeze
over. I would like to know more info on that
subject. Anyhoo.

From the following quote from the president of the Lakes Carriers' Association in 1996, it sounds as though all of your memories are correct.

"Those Committee members who reside in the Great Lakes Region know that winter in our part of the country is always challenging. But, the past few years have been for the record books. The winter of 1993-1994 was so bad that we came to call it the "Mother" of all winters. As the 1993 season came to an end, conditions were so severe that carriers had to cancel their last cargos. Lake Superior froze over completely for the first time in 20 years or so. The first trip of the 1994 season was supposed to be a 12-hour run from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Sandusky, Ohio. That 150-mile voyage instead took 5½ days! By the time ice conditions abated, the members of Lake Carriers' Association had lost a combined total of 188 sailing days.

Unfortunately, the 1996 lingering winter makes 1993-1994 look tame; in fact, we set a new record for freezing degree days. Therefore, we've had to come up with an appropriate name. This winter is now the "Grandmother" of all winters. And may I parenthetically add that we pray that the future doesn't hold the "Great Grandmother" of all winters."

But it sure makes for some spectacular scenery up there. Beautiful picture!

Another note from the Great Lakes Aquarium Harbor Watch Field Manual (http://www.glaquarium.org/learn/lakematters/harborwatch/fieldmanual.html):

"Lake Superior can freeze over completely during intervals of very cold, calm weather, as occurred in the winters of 1977-78, 1993-1994 and 1995-96."

This site has a good explanation of how this happens.

Hmmm...mother of all winters, grandmother of all winters, GREAT grandmother of all winters? In recent history? Wow that really blows apart all notions of the global warming effect doesn't it? :)

Thank-you Martha K. for the info and for clearing up the confusion.

I beleive that officialy it was 78-79 that Lake Superior was froze completly across. The previous dates of 93-94 95-96 found that the N E shores were open.Not sure but before that was in late 40's or early 50'3