( CNN ) What ? Not enough snow , ice and cold for you ? You say you STILL need some `` Frozen '' references in your life ? Well , this ought to quench that need for freeze : Ice has suddenly blossomed across the Great Lakes , with the ice pack nearly doubling in just a little more than a week . The lakes are now more than 85 % iced over , according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory , with Lake Erie leading the way at more than 98 % . For the first time in ( not quite ) forever , Niagara Falls looks pretty much frozen , too . And here 's the thing ... people are going there ! And not in a `` Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is going , so we better go and smile , too '' way . These folks are going voluntarily . Niagara Falls has been doing steady business in recent days , CNN affiliate WKBW reported . `` I have n't seen it like this in a long , long time , '' one visitor , Maryann McCleary , told the station . Some tourists had come from as far away as Alabama and even from overseas , the station said . Niagara Falls is n't exactly frozen over ; water is still flowing underneath the ice . It 's not uncommon for parts of the falls to ice over in winter . The only recorded time the water flow stopped completely was in 1848 , thanks to an ice jam upriver . Icy conditions are also par for the course in the Great Lakes . The current 85 % coverage is n't a record ; that would be 1979 's 94.7 % , according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory . Last year 's 92.5 % peak was No . 2 , the agency says . But there 's still time for this year to contend for the record . The National Weather Service says extremely cold arctic air will allow for expansion of the ice coverage in the coming days . Queen Elsa , and her pint-sized fans , would be pleased . 115 million people are shivering . CNN 's Christina Zdanowicz , Jareen Imam and special to CNN Amanda Jackson contributed to this story .
Ice has suddenly blossomed across the Great Lakes , putting a record in reach . Niagara Falls looks iced over as well , drawing even more tourists to the site .