'til... something freezes over, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

To purchase the award-winning Twisted Climb series, click here:

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

I live in central Ontario, Canada - where winter is a months-long celebration for skiers, snowmobilers, and outdoor enthusiasts. However, last winter (2023/24) was not the typical celebration-type weather. No no no. We saw precious little snow because the temperatures were higher than normal, which means for Canadians, it's t-shirt weather. 10° Celsius (50° Fahrenheit) is a balmy temperature for us hardy souls. And because December/January/February seemed like a prolonged Autumn, I refer to it as "the winter that wasn't." 

This year is a totally different story. It snows and snows and snows and snows... and gets colder and colder and colder... well, you get my point. 

Will it ever stop? 

My partner, Ian, clearing a path to the bird feeder - December 2024

Baby it's cold outside :) 
-21° Celsius but with the wind-chill, feeling like -30°
(-6° Fahrenheit feeling like -22° F)

January snowbank on our driveway

Map of the 5 Great Lakes surrounding the border of Canada and the U.S.

But will the Great Lakes freeze over?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as of January 25, approximately 23% of the Great Lakes were covered in ice. That breaks down to:

Lake Ontario: 15% ice coverage

Lake Erie: 85% (was 28% on Jan. 15. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, averaging 19 metres, or 62 ft. In mid-January, a 663' freighter hauling wheat from Buffalo, New York, to Sarnia, Ontario, got stuck in the rapidly building ice. An ice-breaker ship had to carve a path to 'rescue' the freighter and free it from the 4-foot thick ice. The boat and crew were not harmed!)

Lake Michigan: 22%

Lake Huron: 25%

Lake Superior: 9% (Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, averaging 147 metres or 483 ft. The deepest part is 406 metres, or 1,332 ft.)

Apparently the above stats, with the exception of Lake Erie, are normal for end-of-January.

By the time you read this blog, the lakes should be 40 or 45% covered in ice. That is, if the temperatures remain steady. Another 'arctic blast' may drastically, and for the better, increase the amount of ice building over the lakes. Higher water levels are better for shorelines, shipping lanes, and marine life. The last time the Great Lakes almost froze over was 2014 and 2017. During last year's winter (2023/24), the average ice coverage was less than 5% across the Great Lakes - a significant drop since the NOAA began recording ice statistics in 1979, and sadly, confirmation about the negative effect of climate change. You see, it's the melting ice that contributes to higher water levels. Without ice cover, snow simply evaporates on the lakes. 

I'm standing about 100 feet from shore on the partially frozen Georgian Bay,
adjacent to Lake Huron.

'Ice wave' formations - where waves turn into ice (Georgian Bay)

Sun setting over the frozen shoreline of Georgian Bay.
Blue Mountains of Collingwood, Ontario, are in the background.

My home base in central Ontario has been blasted with about 140 cm of snow since December. For my American readers, that's a little over 55 inches, making our property a true winter wonderland. Kudos to my partner, Ian, who has the good fortune (?) of being 'in charge' of snow clearing :)

Fortunately for the characters in The Twisted Climb trilogy, the story does not occur during winter months - so they don't encounter snow or ice monsters. What they do encounter, though, will bring chills up and down your spine. Check it out! 

Until next time, stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :) 

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
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