The week started out with the coldest day so far, and for the first time this season the bay is frozen.
I’m sure it still thaw again because the water is still relatively warm. According to https://www.watertemperature.net, the water in the bay is still close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit so it takes cold air temperatures to sustain the ice.
We’re getting a bit of a thaw on Monday / Tuesday this week, but after that, we’re back to cold temperatures for the rest of December so we’re in good shape for a white Christmas.
Sunday, December 17th, 2017 – While technically not winter yet, today was one of those “perfect” winter days. As you can see from this picture from our back deck we had a sunny morning and I could hardly wait to get to the beach.Sunday, December 17th, 2017 – It was -15 C early and the winds had dropped so finally the bay was frozen solid as far as the eye could see. I wouldn’t dare walk on the ice though!Sunday, December 17th, 2017 – with more fresh snow there were lots of snowmobiles criss-crossing the beach. This picture was taken from the boardwalk at beach 2. Hope this guy doesn’t mind me posting his picture. He failed to stop and sign the waiver. 🙂Sunday, December 17th, 2017 – Taken looking south from the Beach 2 boardwalk. It’s early enough in the morning that the sun is still low on the horizon.Sunday, December 17th, 2017 – I need someone smart about meteorology to confirm this, but I suspect this bank of cloud with entrails leading down to the water might be the demarcation point between the open water and the ice closer to shore.Monday, December 18th, 2017 – on entering the beach at the 18th street the sky looked threatening to the north. The ice is all still frozen but the winds are picking up and it is getting mild so I expect the ice will be gone tomorrow.Monday, December 18th, 2017 – Sure enough, it wasn’t two minutes later it started to snow. The lake effect snow bands keep crossing the beach with the weather sometimes changing in minutes. You can see the snow coming in the distance which is cool – For those not familiar, the beach is 14 kilometers end-to-end and you can usually see the full distance..Monday, December 18th, 2017 – The main drag at Beach 1 was looking lonely when I got there. Not a single car in sight. I’m glad they repainted the buildings this summer. It looks more colorful than last winter!Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 – back to strong winds and high waves. The waves have broken up a lot of the ice.Friday, December 22nd, 2017 – Frozen again this morning. We had an east wind keeping the winds offshore.Friday, December 22nd, 2017 – About ten centimeters of fresh snow made it hard to walk because the snow was covering over ice chunks and glare ice in places.Saturday, December 23rd, 2017 – When I started my walk the sky looked threatening. I was expecting rain or snow but none materialized. Hard to see from this angle, but the bay is partially open, partially frozen.Saturday, December 23rd, 2017 – What was striking about today was that the wind shifted completely from south to northwest in the course of my one hour walk. The change took place just within a few minutes. This picture taken walking back. The light is such that you can see the difference between the water and the floating ice.Saturday, December 23rd, 2017 – Taken just as I exited the beach near 13th street to walk back to my truck on Shore Lane.
