The ice continues to hang on despite a few nice warm days. It won’t be much longer before we have open water if things keep melting at this rate.
Last year there was a little less ice at this same time of year. Looking back at records for 2014 (a cold winter) it was late into April before all the ice disappeared from the beach.
Sunday, March 25, 2018 – looking west from Beach One on a crisp morning. Just below freezing and the sand hard as rock and perfect to walk on.Monday, March 26th, 2018 – The ice drifting north due to an unusual south wind. Note the expanse of open water that’s opened up. Taken with a telephoto lense as the open water is quite a distance from shore.
The view from the shore can be deceiving. In the picture above, taken from shore, we can see open water. Sure enough, two large chunks of ice (several kilometers in length) broke off from the ice pack near shore, and are floating north in the bay. According to the satellite photography (below) the ice that broke off is approximately one mile by three miles.
Monday, March 26th, 2018 – Satellite photography confirms that an ice chunk approximately three square miles in size is floating north.Wednesday, March 28th, 2018 – Today reached a high of 5C with gentle winds from the north. I can’t explain the physics of the steam coming off the sand, but I recall the same thing last year. Today was partly sunny, and I expect the sand is warmer than the air. Couple this with cold air drifting in over the ice from the north, and “poof” – beach fog!Wednesday March 28th, 2018 – I walked down the beach twice today. This picture taken around 7:30 PM. The air was still cold but you can definitely feel the increased warmth of the sun.Friday, March 30th, 2018 – Another evening picture. Still lots of ice close to shore but melting fast.Saturday, March 31st, 2018 – A beautiful day. I ventured down the beach late morning and took this picture near 13th street looking towards Collingwood. Lots of ice but open water clearly visible. Temperature this morning was 3 degrees.Saturday, March 31st, 2018 – Snapped this picture crossing onto Shore Lane returning from beach one. The feature photographed is a sand dune formed by an open channel without trees where northwest wind deposits sand from the beach. Incredible how much sand has drifted across the open field..
