Does Lake Erie freeze over?

Fifty-four winters of ice

NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory records the largest share of each lake covered by ice in every winter since 1973. For Lake Erie the average of those annual maximums is 80.5%^[1] and the median 93.9%^[1]: in a typical winter, most of the lake ices over at some point.^[1] In 35 winters^[1] of the 54 winters^[1] the maximum reached 90% or more, and the record shows complete coverage in 1978, 1979, 1996^[1]. The exceptions are striking: in 10 winters^[1] winters the lake never got past half covered, and in 1998^[1] the maximum was just 5.4%^[1]. In the winter of 2025–26 the maximum was 96.0%^[1], reached on Feb 5, 2026^[1].^[1]

Data table for this chart

Lake Erie annual maximum ice cover by winter (year the winter ended). Source: NOAA GLERL.

Winter ending	Maximum ice cover	Date
1973	95.7%	Feb-27
1974	88.5%	Feb-21
1975	80.1%	Feb-13
1976	95.4%	Feb-08
1977	99.8%	Feb-08
1978	100.0%	Feb-08
1979	100.0%	Feb-12
1980	93.4%	Mar-05
1981	96.0%	Jan-14
1982	99.1%	Feb-15
1983	40.8%	Feb-14
1984	95.7%	Jan-18
1985	96.0%	Feb-09
1986	95.5%	Feb-01
1987	88.0%	Feb-14
1988	91.5%	Feb-07
1989	91.6%	Feb-17
1990	72.8%	Mar-09
1991	35.1%	Feb-01
1992	89.8%	Feb-16
1993	94.3%	Feb-24
1994	96.7%	Feb-09
1995	94.0%	Feb-13
1996	100.0%	Feb-05
1997	99.6%	Feb-02
1998	5.4%	Jan-23
1999	74.8%	Jan-15
2000	90.7%	Feb-01
2001	94.0%	Feb-12
2002	14.4%	Jan-03
2003	95.7%	Jan-27
2004	95.4%	Feb-02
2005	93.0%	Feb-07
2006	21.9%	Mar-02
2007	95.8%	Feb-19
2008	93.4%	Mar-10
2009	95.5%	Feb-05
2010	93.1%	Feb-08
2011	95.8%	Feb-01
2012	13.9%	Jan-21
2013	83.7%	Feb-22
2014	96.1%	Mar-06
2015	98.1%	Feb-18
2016	78.7%	Feb-15
2017	35.5%	Feb-08
2018	95.1%	Feb-09
2019	94.3%	Mar-02
2020	15.9%	Feb-29
2021	85.7%	Feb-20
2022	93.8%	Jan-31
2023	40.2%	Feb-05
2024	35.7%	Jan-22
2025	95.8%	Feb-20
2026	96.0%	Feb-05

Why Erie freezes more than the others

Shallow water loses its heat quickly. The EPA describes Lake Erie as the shallowest and smallest Great Lake by volume, one that warms rapidly in spring and summer and frequently freezes over in winter.^[2] Wikipedia notes that it is usually the first Great Lake to freeze and the most likely to freeze over.^[3] Opinions have changed with the record: in 1911 the Encyclopaedia Britannica stated that the harbors froze but the body of the lake never froze completely, which NOAA's satellite-era record of full coverage now contradicts.^[4,1]

This is history, not an ice report

These figures describe past winters only. We never report current conditions. For today's beach advisories, bloom status and weather, use the official sources below. Lake ice is never guaranteed safe; follow the official ice analyses and local authorities.

• NOAA GLERL Great Lakes ice cover
• Canadian Ice Service
• National Weather Service, Cleveland
• National Weather Service, Buffalo

Download the record

The full annual series, one row per winter from 1973 to 2026 with the maximum percentage and its date, is free to download as ice-cover-annual-max.csv from the data page, and the ice-cover chart is available as an image you can embed with a credit link. NOAA's values are public domain; please credit NOAA GLERL as the source of the data.

Questions people ask

Has Lake Erie ever frozen over completely?

Yes. NOAA's annual maximum ice cover record shows 100.0% coverage in 1978, 1979, 1996.

What was the least ice Lake Erie has had?

5.4% in 1998, the lowest annual maximum in NOAA's record from 1973 to 2026.