Lake Effect - 245

First, a big shout out of thanks to the road crews who have kept our highways passable in the worst of weather. We are no strangers to heavy snow, but we just experienced a blizzard. I was impressed not only with the power of mother nature but how well our snow removers got the job done.

We know the earth is warming rapidly and this is called global warming but how has this affected our local weather and how will it affect us in the future? There is a scramble by our universities and various governmental organizations to create modern crystal balls (climate models) to prepare the US citizen for what is coming.

Many of the studies focus on how far the oceans have risen and how fast they will continue rising. Many are involved with how drought prone areas like our Southwest will have to endure rising heat and lack of moisture. Still others are attempting to forecast future mega rains and moisture laden hurricanes so humans who experience these unfortunate climate emergencies can cope.

What about us? We are part of what is called the Great Lakes States and much of our weather has a wild card called “Lake Effect”. With the latest snow tragedy in Buffalo, lake effect climate is hitting the headlines.

While the news has put Buffalo in the headlines, the study of Great Lakes weather started years ago and includes the Upper Peninsula.  In 1995 the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA) recognized the need to begin regional climate studies. In 2015 it competitively let 19 climate partnerships to study regional weather. Today our regional team is jointly run by Michigan State, the University Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin. It is called the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments or (GLISA).

Here is their mission statement: “GLISA works at the boundary between climate science and decision making, striving to enhance Great Lakes communities’ capacity to understand, plan for, and respond to climate impacts now and in the future.”

Here is GLISA’S project overview: “In 2015, the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments program (GLISA) formally started the development of a Great Lakes Ensemble of future climate projections and guidance for practitioners in the Great Lakes region. This project is motivated by the need for high-quality, regionally relevant climate projections for use in climate change adaptation work.  The current challenge is not a lack of climate projections to choose from, rather, today’s practitioner is faced with an overwhelming large quantity of projections with very little guidance on how to choose the most relevant ones for their work.

The Ensemble project aims to address challenges associated with choosing and using climate projections by summarizing projections for adaptation audiences and providing expert guidance for advanced users. Ultimately, the Ensemble project as a whole is intended to increase the capacity of practitioners to be informed consumers of climate information.”

To summarize, GLISA will, to the best of their current knowledge, bring the complex science of climate change as it pertains to the Great Lake States, to us in a language we can understand. 

Common sense tells us our county, city, and township planners should be on GLISA’s mailing list. As citizens we may want to spend time familiarizing ourselves with the great lakes weather as the experts see it. Here is GLISA’s webpage: http://glisa.umich.edu

Here is information specific to Lake Superior: https://glisa.umich.edu/sustained-assessment/superior-climatology/

Warm regards….cool climate.

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