Earliest in at least 40 years.
Ice is already starting to develop on the Great Lakes, says MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa.
According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, ice started to form on three of Michigan’s Great Lakes on November 20, 2014. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan were one-half percent ice covered, while Lake Huron had one percent ice. Lake Erie was not reporting any ice as of Nov. 20, 2014.
Since decent early season ice coverage records date back to 1973, last Friday was the earliest date that all three Great Lakes already had ice since the better reporting of early season ice began.
Lake Superior actually had ice forming on November 15th of this year. That is the earliest ice on Lake Superior in the good data set.
Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron had ice 10 days earlier this year than last year.
Lake Superior only had five and a half months without any ice on the lake.
http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2014/11/great_lakes_ice_cover_developi.html
Thanks to Jason Cragg, Oriole, Thomas McHart and Kurt Strom for this link