MUSKEGON, MI— Lake Michigan was blasted with sub-zero Arctic air last week, causing the Lakeshore to rapidly transform into an icy wonderland. Ice cover expanded rapidly last week, reaching a short-term peak of 21 percent ice cover last Wednesday.

Ice coverage for all of the Great Lakes combined was 23.21% – the highest since February 26, 2022, when it was 56.1%. At the beginning of this month, ice coverage was less than 2% across all the lakes.

Seasonal snowfall is now above average for most of West Michigan and ice coverage has increased on the Great Lakes due to last week's arctic blast.