Late Spring Ice

Late Spring Ice
March 21, 2010

Mid-March we experienced a week of unseasonable warm temperatures. It was quite delightful! Then it turned cold again with winds from the North. Waters that had been clear were suddenly filled with ice that was quickly forming ice jams. Ice jams from along the Great Lakes waterways cause the secondary and tertiary waterways to back-up as they can't drain properly. This puts communities along these smaller waterways at risk for flooding. The Canadian and US Coast Guards in an attempt to prevent flooding conditions co-operatively work overtime to prevent ice jams and when an ice jam does form as it so quickly can they work round the clock without break to get the ice jam to release. It is always and interesting time along the Great Lakes waterways this time of year!

Pictured is an ice jam forming. By the time I was able to get this picture the Coast Guards were in full force trying to release a 15 mile long ice jam to get things moving again. Unfortunately things worsened overnight as more ice backed up so the next day they were still working overtime trying to get the ice to move. Late that afternoon as the weather turned to freezing rain and even cooler temperatures I watched the US Coast Guard ice cutter slowly made it's way through the thickening ice I was reminded once again how very quickly the Great Lakes water conditions can change.

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