Locks to Stay Open- Good News?
This news is related to weather and water levels, and it’s not an indicator of good news. The Soo Locks will be open an extra 10 days this shipping season. Instead of closing the 15th of January, they will shut down the 25th. The extra time will aid the steel industry as coal and iron ore can transit through the locks to assist in production.
However, the decision lets us know that the conditions on Lake Superior are pretty benign. Lake Superior, with the exception of its north coast, is ice free. If we look back to the winter of 1986 when water levels hit record highs the Lock area was at least 60% ice covered and in some places 100% covered.
For some the extra shipping time is good news. For those looking for a rise in lakes levels it’s an indicator that we’re headed in the other direction.
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| This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2004 at 8:26 am and is filed under Weather. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. |
