Why the Great Lakes are a magnet for Canadian wildfire smoke

Smoke knows no boundaries: What Canada’s fires mean for the U.S. in the future

Paige Fischer was driving to the picturesque Traverse City region along Lake Michigan for a family vacation. But even as she was leaving her home in Ann Arbor this week, the smoke from massive wildfires in Canada’s northern boreal forests was already evident.Fischer, who as a professor of environmental sustainability at the University of Michigan, understands better than most what she and her family were getting themselves into.“Even though I st…

Smoke expected to lift in northern Michigan, but more could be on the way

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Canadian wildfire smoke that blew into the Great Lakes region is expected to clear from northern Michigan this weekend — at least for…

Why the Great Lakes are a magnet for Canadian wildfire smoke

The best smoke models show how the Great Lakes actually "trap" the smoke over the water.

How long did Great Lakes ice hold on in 2025? When the last ice melted - Finnoexpert

It may seem like summer across the Great Lakes, but it’s only been a few weeks since ice clung to the last few areas in Lake Superior, according to data from NOAA. The Great Lakes were at 52.23% ice coverage on Feb. 22, the highest percentages of ice coverage since February 2022 when it hit 56%, NOAA said earlier this year. While ice coverage shrunk quickly with warm spring weather, ice stubbornly hung on in Black Bay and Nipigon Bay, east of Th…

Why the Great Lakes are a magnet for Canadian wildfire smoke - Great Lakes Commission

The Great Lakes hold wildfire smoke over the water through a process opposite the way the atmosphere normally works called “trapping inversion.” Read the full story by MLive.