NWS Starts Renaming Lake Ontario In Forecasts, Maps

The National Weather Service on Monday began replacing “Lake Ontario” with “Lake America” across forecasts, maps and websites after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to make the change. Trump signed the executive order Aug. 27 amid trade talks with Canada. 

The Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names were given 30 days to make the new name official. Lake Ontario forms part of the U.S.–Canada border.

Affected products include open-waters forecasts and forecasts for the Niagara River and surrounding areas of New York. As of Sept. 13, the Buffalo weather office was still using the old name in a forecast discussion that mentioned possible showers “southeast of Lake Ontario.”

“Caution will be exercised to avoid disruptions to operations,” said Courtney Draggon, director of the weather service’s business operations and accountability office.

The name Lake Ontario dates to the 17th century and comes from an Iroquois term meaning “lake of shining waters.” Library of Congress maps from that era already used the name and showed the lake as a commercial route from the Atlantic into Upper Canada and the interior of North America.

The change follows earlier Trump administration place-name revisions, including “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America,” Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, and Denali back to Mount McKinley. Federal agencies said the Gulf of America change did not impose substantial public costs.