Glad You Asked: More on the earliest snow ever in Racine; can the stars of the sea live in the Great Lakes

By Chris Bennett

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 2:11 AM CST

What is the earliest we've received snow?

On Saturday I said it's hard to say. That may no longer be the case.

We ran this question in Saturday's GYA, in response to Friday's deluge of snow.

Reader Frank Proeber, a former Racinian who now lives near Waupaca, wrote and told of a snowfall not mentioned by the National Weather Service.

The earliest Nov. snowfall we reported as being most likely to hit Racine is from Nov. 11, 1995, when 8 inches of snow fell between Milwaukee and Madison.

Proeber told us about more than 4 inches of snow that fell in Racine on Nov. 12, 1959. Proeber said he remembers because it's the day his son was born.

"We lived on Yout Street and I got stuck going up Main Street Hill (south of State Street)," Proeber said. "I had a brand-new Olds and was going to visit he and his Mom in the afternoon."

Proeber said he stopped at Montgomery Wards on Main Street and ordered a pair of snow tires before going to see his new son, Ray, and his mother. Ray lives in New Berlin.

For those of you wondering, I did make it to O'Hare Friday afternoon safe and sound. Check the blogs at journaltimes.com if this doesn't sound familiar.

Could sharks, seals or whales survive in the Great Lakes? According to biologist Jim Lubner, the education coordinator at the Sea Grant Institute in Milwaukee, the answer to this question hinges on food supply and accessibility for all three.

Whales Lubner said there are whales in the Great Lakes drainage system. There are belugas in the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is more brackish than the lakes.

"Because these are mammals, there's probably nothing that would prevent them from functioning in the Lakes," Lubner said. "Buoyancy would be different - salt water is more buoyant than fresh water. What keeps them from probably being somewhere like the Great Lakes, other than physical barriers like Niagara Falls, is probably food supply."

Especially for the whales we typically think of in the Atlantic Ocean - the large, baleen-type whales that weight tons and eat tons. Lubner said there isn't enough of the large krill upon which the great beasts feast.

Seals Lubner surprised me.

"I'm not sure," Lubner said. "You do have seals in a variety of environments."

Again, seals are mammals, so they're not as dependent on salinity. And again, the question centers on food supply and whether the seals could find enough of what they like to eat.

Lubner said there are examples of freshwater seals. Lake Baikal in Siberia is one of the oldest and larger lakes in the world and is home to an endemic seal population. " which isn't found anywhere else in the world," Lubner said, flashing his knowledge of the word `endemic,' "and evolved there and adapted to that environment."

Lake Baikal is 25-30 million years old. Lubner said the Great Lakes are only about 10 to 15,000 years old, which isn't a lot of time for a mammal population to adapt. Especially if they're not even there.

Sharks "There are sharks that do venture into freshwater," Lubner said, "but many of them are pretty much tied to saltwater."

Lubner said it's - stop me if you've heard this - a food availability issue. It's also a water balance issue.

"Moving from freshwater to saltwater requires a 180-degree shift with what you do with water," Lubner said. The water moves out of the cells of animals in saltwater. In freshwater, the water moves in to the cells and the animal needs a way to secrete.

"The typical salinity of the cells in your body is somewhere between freshwater and the ocean," Lubner said. "Water moves in response to that gradient."

Some sharks can balance the water in their body. One is the bull shark, which Lubner said does live in fresh water.

So in conclusion - I feel like I'm writing a paper for school - whales, seals, sharks and I bet even seahorses could survive in the Great Lakes if the ecosystem offered enough food. And if they could get here.

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!