Sections of the lakes harden almost... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Jan. 10, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard are Great Lakes freighters Arthur M. Anderson, left, and James R. Barker, seen from the icebreaker Mackinaw, on the St. Marys River, which... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Feb. 12, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the icebreaker Biscayne Bay passes Chicago's Navy Pier, left, as it through the ice covered waters of Lake Michigan on it's way to Indiana.... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Feb. 2, 2014 photo people visit the caves at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin, transformed into a dazzling display of ice sculptures by the arctic siege gripping the Upper... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Dec. 26, 2013 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the icebreaker Mackinaw maintains a shipping lane on the St. Marys River linking Lakes Superior and Huron. As of Feb. 13, the ice cover extended... (Associated Press) 
 
 It's been so bitterly cold for so long in the Upper Midwest that the Great Lakes are almost completely covered with ice. The last time they came this close was in 1994, when 94 percent of the lakes' surface was frozen. The ice cover on the lakes increased from 79.7% to 88.4% just in the last week, putting the region close to the record of almost 95% set in February 1979, according to data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. “Given the warmer weather next week, it may not be in the cards, but it’s way, way above normal,” Andresen said.
– It's been so cold for such a long time in the Great Lakes region that the lakes are now almost completely covered with ice for the first time in 20 years. Ice cover has now reached 88% across the five lakes, the most since 1994, when 94% of their surface was frozen, the AP finds. Average ice cover has receded around 70% over the last four decades, so this year's deep freeze will do much to replenish lake water levels by limiting evaporation. "It has been an extraordinary winter, and the ice cover is a manifestation of that unusually cold winter," Michigan's state climatologist tells the Detroit Free Press. The ice cover record could be broken by next week if the current rate of increase continues, a meteorologist says, though Lake Ontario is "holding everyone back" with ice cover of just 40%, caused by its depth and the churn of Niagara Falls. On Lake Superior, which is almost 94% frozen over, the Apostle Island Ice Caves can be reached on foot for the first time in years.