BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) Frigid temperatures in recent days have accelerated the ice cover on Lake Erie.
"It shot up fast," said WBEN and Channel 7 Meteorologist Aaron Mentkowski.
"Just from the 25th to the 26th, it went from 45% to 57% ice covered." He expects the ice will continue to expand as we head into the upcoming weekend.
The western end of the lake has the greatest amount of ice.
The reason for the interest in the lake's ice field has to do with lake effect snow. The more ice on the lake the less chance for lake effect snow. Although, there can still be lake effect snow when the ice is covered.
Mentkowski warns about being on the ice on Thursday. "Strong winds today will make the ice unstable. It's not that thick and not a place I would be," he added. The winds will make lake waters choppy which can break up any ice that has formed.
On January first of this year, ice coverage on the lake was zero. A week ago it was 15% covered. It has climbed steadily over the last several days to hit 57% on Jan. 26.
Ice coverage can change rapidly on Lake Erie. It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the one that gets the most ice coverage.
Here's a look at the ice from the Upper Niagara River along the Canadian shoreline, courtesy of fisherman Denis Kreze @fishinniagara.
