GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.
(AP) - Weather officials say water temperatures in the Great Lakes are
higher than at the same time a year ago.
MLive.com reports
that warmer Great Lakes waters could help keep Michigan from having an
extremely cold winter.
The data from the
Great Lakes Environmental Research Center covers lake temperatures from
Sunday and July 5, 2014. Lake Superior has the biggest difference in average
surface water temperature, up 3.5 degrees this year to 48 degrees.
Temperatures for Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are roughly 3 degrees higher
on the surface than last year.
Surface
temperatures are about 2 degrees higher on Lake Ontario and 0.4 degrees
higher on Lake Erie.