Weather and Climate on Isle Royale
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails" ~William Arthur Ward
Isle Royale is very hard to get to, many believe this is the reason why there is so little visitors. Lake Superior may seem calm at first glance, but when you're sailing on it, it shows no mercy. It is so windy and there is almost never a moment without precipitation. Due to the wind, be ready for delayed arrivals and departures. It get so dangerous in the Winter, that the park service closes it, so nobody gets injured in the winer trying to get there. It can receive anywhere from .1 to 18 feet of snow from August to May, I wouldn't want to be trudging through that! Due to this, the best time to visit is in the summer months, June- September, these are typically the months with no snow and the nicest traveling conditions. Even though the is the best time to go, that doesn't mean it will be warm. The average daily high in July and August is only 69ºF and the highest temperature ever recorded was still only 89ºF. In the spring, there is dense fog, if you want to see the beauty of the island, don't go then. Also, expect to almost always see some light rain, so bring an umbrella, raincoat, and be sure to dress warm! It is always pretty windy, so when choosing a campsite, lookout for trees that could blow down on you. Once you get past the temperature, precipitation, and wind, Isle Royale is truly fascinating!
Climate Change
One very harmful thing affecting Isle Royale right now is climate change. Lake Superior is warming faster than any other lake on the planet. It is threatening the wolf population, wolves have a very hard time adjusting to rapidly changing weather, so it's causing them, one of the most important features of the island, to slowly decrease in population. It leaves scientists to wonder what will happen when the wolves are no longer on the island. But, that is something that they don't want to happen. So, to do everything in their power to help the wolf population with climate change, scientists are using Participatory Scenario Planning, this examines many different future scenarios, identifies climate and ecosystem drivers, and looks at management options. Basically, they can use experiments to find out different ways that climate change will affect the island. Once they see the harmful affects, they can begin brainstorming solutions to the problems before they even occur. Hopefully, Isle Royale can be saved from climate change before it corrupts the whole park.