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Freeze tracker

“Is it making ice?” is the question, and this page can’t answer it. It shows air temperature near each water: how far below or above freezing the last week ran, and what the forecast says. It doesn’t measure ice, it can’t see ice, and it never tells you that ice will hold you.

No ice report here. We don’t know the ice on any Ohio water today, and nothing on this page says you can walk on it. Read ice safety first, and check the ice yourself, every few steps, every trip.

Each panel uses one weather station and one forecast point, which may be miles from where you’d fish; the table below says how far. Air temperature is one of many things ice answers to. Minnesota DNR: Many factors other than thickness affect ice strength, including air temperature, wind, snow, streams, narrow areas or bottlenecks, sun, shade, fish communities, plant decay, and more. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) The Coast Guard: Ice thickness is rarely consistent. Water currents, particularly around narrow spots, bridges, inlets and outlets are always suspect for weak ice. (U.S. Coast Guard release, Feb. 3, 2020)

Lake Erie western basin: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Port Clinton Carl R Keller Field Airport (National Weather Service station KPCW, about 10 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for the South Bass Island ice ramp coordinates ODNR prints.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KPCW: recent observations
• NOAA GLERL: Great Lakes ice cover
• U.S. National Ice Center: Great Lakes ice charts
• National Weather Service Cleveland: marine forecasts

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Pymatuning Lake: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Ashtabula - Northeast Ohio Regional Airport (National Weather Service station KHZY, about 16 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the Ohio shore near Andover.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KHZY: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Mosquito Creek Lake: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Youngstown, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (National Weather Service station KYNG, about 8 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the lake near Cortland.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KYNG: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Nimisila Reservoir: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Akron Canton Regional Airport (National Weather Service station KCAK, about 4 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point at the reservoir in Green.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KCAK: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Bass Lake Preserve: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Willoughby (National Weather Service station KLNN, about 12 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point at Bass Lake in Geauga County.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KLNN: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Indian Lake: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Bellefontaine Regional Airport (National Weather Service station KEDJ, about 7 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the lake near Russells Point.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KEDJ: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Buckeye Lake: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Newark, Newark Heath Airport (National Weather Service station KVTA, about 8 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the lake near Fairfield Beach.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KVTA: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Alum Creek Lake: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Delaware Municipal Airport (National Weather Service station KDLZ, about 10 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the lake in Delaware County.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KDLZ: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Lake Milton: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Youngstown, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (National Weather Service station KYNG, about 19 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the lake at the village of Lake Milton.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KYNG: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Portage Lakes: has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Akron, Akron Fulton International Airport (National Weather Service station KAKR, about 6 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point among the lakes near New Franklin.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KAKR: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

West Branch (Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir): has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Akron, Akron Fulton International Airport (National Weather Service station KAKR, about 19 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point on the reservoir east of Ravenna.

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• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KAKR: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

Twin Creek MetroPark (Lake George): has the air been freezing?

Air temperature observed at Dayton, Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport (National Weather Service station KMGY, about 7 miles from the forecast point), and the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for a point at Twin Creek MetroPark.

The numbers load here from the National Weather Service when JavaScript is on.

• National Weather Service forecast for this point
• Station KMGY: recent observations

Weather is not ice thickness. This panel reads air temperature and can’t see ice, so it never tells you ice will hold. Minnesota DNR on what else matters, and by how much ice varies: Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. (Minnesota DNR) Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR) How the numbers are worked out · Stations and points · Ice safety

How are the numbers worked out?

NOAA’s Great Lakes lab counts cold in freezing degree-days, and defines them in a technical memorandum (December 2003 (NOAA GLERL (PDF))):

“Daily maximum and minimum air temperatures at the stations shown in Table 1 were used to calculate mean daily air temperature. The difference between the mean daily air temperature and the freezing point of fresh water (32oF) is used to define the number of “freezing degree-days” accumulated for that day.”

“If the mean daily air temperature is above the freezing point then the FDDs are negative. If the mean daily air temperature is below the freezing point then FDDS for that date are positive.”

“If the cumulative sum becomes negative on a given date, due to a series of days with above freezing air temperatures, the sum is set to zero and a new sum is started the following day.”

The lab says what the count is used for: Freezing degree-days (FDDs) are used to define winter severity and trends in winter severity (Assel 1980b), develop empirical models of ice thickness (Assel 1976, Hinkel 1983) and ice cover (NOAA GLERL (PDF)). We print the count and stop there. We don’t turn it into a thickness.

What your browser does when the page loads:

1. It asks the National Weather Service for the station’s air-temperature readings from the last eight days. When we tested it, the service returned about seven days, so this is a one-week window, not a season total.
2. For each whole local day (midnight to midnight, Ohio time) it takes the lowest and highest reading the station reported, averages the two, and subtracts the average from the freezing point, in Fahrenheit. These are the lowest and highest of the readings on file, which can miss a brief peak or dip between readings; they aren’t the station’s official daily maximum and minimum. A day counts only if it has readings in at least 18 different hours.
3. It adds the days up the way the lab describes, over an unbroken run of calendar days ending yesterday. The run stops at the first day that is missing or too thinly reported; nothing is bridged or guessed, and the panel names the dates it used. Today isn’t counted until it is over.
4. It asks for the Weather Service’s hourly forecast for the grid point and does the same sums for each whole day ahead, starting tomorrow. A forecast day counts only if the forecast has a value for every hour of it, and the run stops at the first day that doesn’t.
5. If the forecast run is at least three days long, it names the air temperature ahead from the run’s total: freezing weather when the total is half a degree-day or more above zero, thawing weather when it is half a degree-day or more below, and about even in between (a total that rounds to zero). Those words describe air temperature and nothing else. A label can’t tell you whether any water has ice, or whether ice will hold.
6. While the page stays open it checks itself every minute, and whenever you come back to the tab. Numbers worked out on an earlier day, or more than an hour ago, or resting on a station reading or forecast that has passed its limit, are removed from every panel at once and then loaded again.

What can’t this tell you?

• Whether a water has any ice at all.
• How much ice, or whether it will hold. Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. (Minnesota DNR)
• Anything that happened before the week it shows.
• The weather at the water itself. Readings come from the named station, and the forecast is for one grid square.

What happens when the data is missing or old?

• If the Weather Service doesn’t answer, or the station has no usable reading from the last 6 hours, the panel says so, shows no numbers at all, and tries again a few minutes later.
• If the station is current but the forecast is more than 30 hours old, or has no usable issue time, the observed days are shown and the forecast and its label are withheld, with a line saying why.
• If the station missed yesterday, no observed total is shown.

Which stations and points does it use?

Station names, station coordinates and forecast grids are the National Weather Service’s, read from its public data service; our checker asks the service again before each update and stops the build if a name, a position or a grid has changed. The forecast point for each water is one we chose (for Lake Erie, the South Bass Island ramp coordinates ODNR prints: 41.6580, -82.8298 (North) 41.6538, -82.8372 (South) (ODNR Coastal (PDF))). The distances are our own arithmetic between the two sets of coordinates.

Where are the official ice and weather pages?

• NOAA GLERL, Great Lakes ice cover: GLSEA (The Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis) is a digital map of the Great Lakes surface water temperature and ice cover which is produced daily at GLERL. (NOAA GLERL) The amount of ice cover varies from year to year, as well as how long it remains on the lakes. (NOAA GLERL)
• U.S. National Ice Center, Great Lakes ice charts. We link these as official ice-cover products. Ice cover is not ice you can stand on.
• National Weather Service Cleveland and National Weather Service Wilmington (the office whose forecast grid covers the Twin Creek point) for forecasts and warnings.
• National Weather Service, ice safety.

Data: National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov), read by your browser. We don’t receive those requests.