# What does ice on Lake Superior tell us about climate change?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-cast-316665/what-does-ice-on-lake-superior-tell-us-about-climate-change
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-cast-316665/what-does-ice-on-lake-superior-tell-us-about-climate-change.md
Podcast: [Climate Cast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/climate-cast-316665)
Published: 2026-02-20T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2026/02/20/what-does-ice-on-lake-superior-tell-us-about-climate-change
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/VnCzW2iO9G8z4eDWfXCd/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/minnesota/podcasts/climate_cast/2026/02/19/cc_austin_superior_02192026_20260219_128.mp3?awCollectionId=apm-ClimCast&awEpisodeId=01KHVEJBYRGDNPT24X9BGJZ62Z
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Duration seconds: 292

## Resource

The last time Lake Superior completely froze over was 30 years ago in 1996. Around that time, Lake Superior was consistently at least 75 percent frozen over. Now, 75 percent coverage is rare, only happening about once every four years. Ice on the Great Lakes, and Lake Superior specifically, is a great way to measure climate for our region. MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with UMD professor Jay Austin, about what ice coverage can tell us about climate change. Click play on the audio player above to listen to this episode or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

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## Transcript

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