UPDATE: The Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that was established over Lake Michigan appears to have been pulled, according to multiple sources.
UPDATE – NOTAM over Lake Michigan has been called off.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 12, 2023
The NOTAM over Lake Michigan is no longer listed on the FAA website. Appears to be cleared.
— Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) February 12, 2023
It is still unclear what the original NOTAM was for, but there currently still appear to be planes in the area.
The NOTAM was originally put in place for “national defense” reasons, although those reasons were never specified.
Original Story
The U.S. has just announced that the airspace is being shut down over Lake Michigan for “national defense” reasons.
JUST IN – United States closes airspace over parts of Lake Michigan, NOTAM states "national defense airspace." pic.twitter.com/XhXURmcmlX
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 12, 2023
NEW: A new NOTAM has been posted and a Temporary Flight Restriction enacted until further notice in far northern Lake Michigan. This is once again National Defense Airspace.#balloongate continued? pic.twitter.com/BbN4WIRD3K
— Nick Stewart (@NStewCBS2) February 12, 2023
NOTAM issues notice to airman in northern Michigan pic.twitter.com/szjMW5Tktk
— DefyTheNorm🍿 (@Defy_Norm) February 12, 2023
This follows the shutting down airspace temporarily over Montana last night after a reported “object” or anomaly was spotted over the area. They said they were going to continue to monitor. This is maybe an indication that they’ve now picked the object up again further along its path into the U.S. or it may be another one.
A Stratotanker is being tracked on @flightradar24 near Green Bay as has been the procedure with this over the last few weeks. pic.twitter.com/VZdtDI38sg
— Nick Stewart (@NStewCBS2) February 12, 2023
There are unconfirmed reports of fighter jets being scrambled, but that would be logical given the situation.