The ice sheets that stuck around the Great Lakes for a record seven months are finally gone after extensive ice breaking efforts.
"I was quite surprised how much we had this winter and how long it stuck around," Wayne Hoepner, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids,
told The Grand Rapids Press after the breakup of Lake Michigan.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday that the last holdout, Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan, has finally given way, ushering in the true start of summer just days before the June 21 summer solstice, the official start.
The ice stuck around for six weeks longer than average, and the U.S. Coast Guard put in over 2,000 hours of ice breaking through the official "ice out" date, June 7,
according to WKZO Kalamazoo.
The breakup of the ice means the Great Lake's shipping season can finally get underway, giving a boost to the local economies around the lakes.
Although the ice sheets are gone and shipping can commence, much of the lakes still sport floating chunks of ice. The mini icebergs could be seen over Memorial Day weekend, creating an interesting backdrop for photos snapped of sunbathing beach goers.
Many locals continue to posted pictures of the ice chunks to Twitter, showing off a feature of the Great Lakes that makes them special.
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