Meteorologists in Rochester follow the weather, but also follow the amount of ice coverage on the Great Lakes. The extent of the ice can have an impact on the amount of lake effect snow deposited over Western New York. In a typical winter season 20% of Lake Ontario will freeze and up to 90% of Lake Erie will ice over. Lake Erie has more ice in a given year because it is a shallower lake. Normally in the third week of February the total ice cover for all the Great Lakes should be in the range of 30% - 40%. But this season has been a little different. Due to the unusually warm temperatures the total ice coverage is now less than 10% with only minimal icing on Lake Erie. There is still the chance that Lake Erie could freeze, but that becomes less likely as the season progresses. In 1937 the lake did not freeze until March 7th.
