http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/busin ... .html?_r=0
In 2014, ice cover peaked at 92.5 percent, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ice persisted in some places until June. This year, ice cover was 89.1 percent.
“Two especially severe winters back to back — we haven’t seen that in a long time,” said George A. Leshkevich, who tracks the ice for the research laboratory. “All the lakes seem pretty brutal.”
Gregg Ward, the co-owner of the ferry, said, “Our expenses continue, so it’s a tragedy for us. By the time this is over, we’ve lost 20 percent of the year.”
As the thaw gets underway, the shipping situation can actually worsen if wind causes ice to pile up in stacks. “I’ve been on a 235-foot Coast Guard ship going full speed ahead, and when it hit one of those, the ship shuddered to a stop,” said Lt. Davey Connor of the Coast Guard district in Cleveland, which is responsible for the Great Lakes.
Many companies are now playing the waiting game.
A United States Coast Guard icebreaker made initial attempts at breaking up ice last week in the port here. Eight imposing grain elevators, which collectively have the largest storage capacity in North America, make the Thunder Bay port an important hub for Canadian exports heading to the Atlantic Ocean.
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nothing to see just move along