Did Scientists Just Find The ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Of Lake Michigan?

The Bermuda Triangle, an area in the Atlantic Ocean around Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico known for its many shipwrecks, flight disappearances, and other oddities, has long been a source of fascination. Now, scientists have discovered an intriguing shape in Lake Michigan that brings this mysterious triangle to mind.

Lake Michigan's "Curious Ring"

Over the weekend, a mysterious ring of warm water was visible via a thermal camera from space, leaving scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison curious about what would cause such an unnatural event in an otherwise normal area of Lake Michigan. Could this photograph be evidence of Lake Michigan's very own Bermuda Triangle?

According to the NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) blog, the ring visible in the southern region of Lake Michigan is about 10^oF warmer (50^oF) than the 40^oF that the rest of the lake is measured at. While on first guess it could be a supernatural occurrence, the actual reason is a different kind of magic: science.

The reason for this warm spot is actually quite unique. The researchers originally thought it was a solar radiation reflection, but that was quickly debunked by more imaging. They eventually managed to pin the oddity on warm winds heating the water's surface, an event that had occurred before.

So while this isn't physical evidence of a Lake Michigan "Bermuda Triangle", or the Loch Ness Monster, that doesn't mean there isn't a Triangle in the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Triangle

While the Great Lakes Triangle is not as well known as the Bermuda Triangle, there is evidence of mysterious behavior happening in the region of Lake Michigan from Ludington, Benton Habor, and Manitowac, Wisconsin. Shipwrecks, magnetic declination throwing off sailor's compasses, and lost aircraft like the infamous NWA Flight 2501 in 1950 that saw the deaths of 58 people add credence to this abnormal portion of Lake Michigan.

So is this all connected, or just a series of coincidences that can be chalked up to another day in the life of Michigan weather?