If you’ve always wanted to visit Lake Superior, one of the most beautiful lakes in the United States, but have been chilled by the fact that it is the coldest Great Lake, then maybe this is the time to visit. Since January 1, Lake Superior’s recorded surface temperatures have been significantly above average. The average surface temperature of the lake has already hit 68 degrees as of late July, eight degrees higher than the average peak each August (when the lake is at its hottest) of roughly 60 degrees.

“It’s pretty safe to say that what we’re seeing here is the warmest that we’ve seen in Lake Superior in a century,” said Jay Austin, a professor at the University of Minnesota at Duluth in a Climate Central report.

The highest average surface temperature ever recorded since data collection began in 1980 was 71 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in mid-August 2010. With warmer weeks ahead, that record could indeed be broken. Find out more in the report from Great Lakes Echo below.

Original report release issued by Great Lakes Echo on July 26, 2012:

By: David Poulson

The coldest of the Great Lakes may be headed toward record warmth.

Lake Superior is already the warmest it’s been at this time of year in at least a century, according to Climate Central, a group that researches and reports on climate.

The group recently reported that Lake Superior began warming earlier than normal because of scant lake ice cover and an unusual March heat wave. Warm temperatures since have kept the heat on.

The analysis is based on data from researchers at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

The record all-time daily average high temperature of 71 degrees for Lake Superior may be broken in mid-August, according to Climate Central.

Republished with permission by Great Lakes Echo.

Image courtesy of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)