Morton rock salt for sale, February 2025 (photo by Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

6 November 2026

Because of the strong El Niño, this winter in the Great Lakes area promises to be warmer than normal with much less snow.

Seasonal Temperature Outlook for Dec-Jan-Feb 2026-27 (map from NOAA Climate Prediction Center)

This is fortunate for northern Ohio because a significant water intrusion on 22 October closed the Morton Salt Mine at Fairport Harbor that’s the main supplier of rock salt for northern Ohio’s roads.

Ryan Sajdak‘s video below illustrates what happened. (Ryan notes that the water-inside-the-mine images were generated by AI.)

Because the mine is beneath a thick layer of shale, and is very far below Lake Erie, some reports indicate it’s unlikely the water is coming from the lake — but the actual water source has not been revealed yet.

In coal country we’re used to mines taking on water and the company simply pumping it out. This report explains why water in a salt mine is so very dangerous.

Meanwhile if you’re curious about the inside of the mine, view this 2018 video from Fox 8 News Cleveland.