'Ice Tsunami' hits lake superior community

Well, we might be in the month of May, but it's doesn't seem like spring yet in Michigan. Residents there are experiencing what some are calling an ... "Ice Tsunami." WILX says:

"Huge blocks of ice wash ashore on Lake Superior. Neighbors in the community of Big Traverse Bay say the ice crept up slowly, smashing into their homes."

A northwest wind reportedly helped drive the ice up on the bank. According to Mark Gill, the director of vessel traffic services for local city Sault Ste. Marie, this is the most ice they've seen in a long time. Detroit Free Press says:

"This year the ice coverage is probably the worst or most ice the lakes have seen in probably about 35 plus years."

Ice plate thickness is measured to be about 3-4 feet, but the plates often break, stack on top of one another and freeze together.

Some homes were hit hard. Insurance adjusters plan to assess the damage in a few days.

But this ice-attack is affecting more than the neighborhoods surrounding the lake. It's also, to put it bluntly, messin' up the economy.

According to AccuWeather, the iced-over Great Lakes are slowing down shipments to and from Canada, which is a big problem, because as...

BMO Financial Group reports, the Great Lakes region accounts for 28 percent of combined U.S. and Canadian economic activity.

Due to this intense and prolonged winter, the region should reportedly prepare for a chilly summer, and a cooler fall.