This report investigates interannual variability in ice coverage (Bai et al., 2012; Assel et al., 1998; Assel et al., 2013). We conduct analyses of the ice coverage records—freeze-up date, break-up date, duration and annual maximum ice coverage (AMIC)—with air temperature —cumulative freezing degree days (FDD), winter severity index (WSI)—and atmospheric teleconnections—El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). In addition, we use scatter plots and linear / non-linear regression, to determinate whether they have linear or quadratic relationships. The purpose of this report is to provide users with the Great Lakes environmental parameters and in depth analyses that are easily digested and applied to resources management, projection, and planning.
