Lake Superior Surface Water Temperatures - InfoSuperior

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SUPERIOR’S AVERAGE SURFACE WATER TEMPERATURE IN RECENT YEARS:

Lake Superior water temperatures in recent years.
According to the above NOAA data, the average high temperature during recent years (five year average, 2014–2018) is 17 °C.

2018 Surface Temperature One Degree Above Long-term Average

Note to U.S. Readers – This article uses U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Data. All such data is provided in degrees Celsius.

The Lake Superior surface water temperature high in 2018, which occurred in mid-August, was 17 °C. This is a degree above the long-term average surface water temperature high of 16 °C; it also took place a couple of weeks earlier than the long-term average high, which occurs in early September. “Long-term” in this instance is a period of 25 years, from 1992 to 2017.

Lake Temperatures: A Complex Topic

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—as part of its Great Lakes Coastwatch, Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis—provides information on Great Lakes water temperatures, including Lake Superior. NOAA water temperature data included here goes back as far as 1992.

Readers should keep in mind that, in comparison to Great Lakes water levels, a complex topic in itself, Great Lakes water temperatures are even more complex. This article involves surface water temperatures. Temperatures at lake bottom are a completely different thing, to say nothing of temperatures at varying depths throughout the water column. Thus, arriving at an average temperature, month-by-month, for all of the water in each Great Lake, throughout all depths, is a complex process.

This article deals with a very specific aspect of Lake Superior water temperatures – peak surface water temperature during the summer and early fall, the variance in peak surface water temperature over the last 25 years and the variance in when this peak temperature has occurred over the same time period, usually in mid-August through mid-September, depending upon the year.

What About Lake Levels? Read this October 3oth, 2018 Infosuperior article entitled, “Lake Superior 11″ Above October Average.“

TEN YEARS AGO:

Lake Superior water temperatures, 2008
According to the NOAA data above, the high surface water temperature for 2008 was 17 °C and took place in mid-August. The average surface water temperature high, going back 10 years and further (five year average, 2004–2008), is 17.4 °C.

TWENTY YEARS AGO:

Lake Superior water temperatures, 1998.
According to NOAA data the high surface water temperature in 1998 took place in mid-August at 20 °C. The average high temperature for the years 1995–1999 is 18.3 °C.
REVIEW:
  • The 2018 surface water temperature high was 17 °C and occurred in mid-August.
  • Ten years ago:  the 2008 surface water temperature high was 17 °C and took place in mid-August.
  • Twenty years ago: the 1998 surface water temperature high was 20 °C and took place in mid-August.
  • The 25-year average high (1992–2017): is 16 °C and is placed in early September.

DATA SOURCE: https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/statistic/

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