Ice-Out 2009
 

This is the Official Ice-Out 2009 thread. Its time to drive ourselves crazy over when the ice will be gone from our lakes.

The Ice Out Page is ready for your hourly (lol) viewing. If you have a webcam that you would like featured there just let me know in this thread or a private PM.

Please post any observations on lake conditions here so we can all get ready for the new boating season.

Enjoy!
IG

http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/iceout.htm

Thanks IG, you're the best!

BT

where can we find dates of previous years?

Ice-Out dates lists are here
 

I was wondering when this post would show. Thanks IG!!!

Doesn't Silver Sands Marina usually have a webcam? Haven't seen it yet.

Silver Sands daily pic
 

Sinler Sands usually takes a picture once a day and posts it on their site. They have a great archive of the daily pics from the last few years. It makes a neat way to compare year to year. Here is the link: http://www.nhboat.com/Nhboat/Feature...t_2008_ice.htm

IG

I was just wondering if anyone had any web cams for the Barndoor Island Area

Ice Out Page Additions
 

DRH has begun his daily picture of ice conditions from just west of Minge Cove, facing east toward Wolfeboro. You can see it here with the other webcams, www.rattlesnakecam.com/icein.htm. You can see the progression http://echoShores.com/ice-out/2009/echoshores.htm.
Also added this year is the new Overlook Cam on Paugus Bay.. also on the Rattlesnake Cam Ice-Out page. We love new webcams, keep them coming..

To Island of Barndoor... set a cam up this summer... it is fairly easy to do!!!

IG :cool:

Water temps are rising
 

The lake temp is up to 36 degrees!!!! Last year it was not 36 degrees until April 1st. The temp at ice was 40 degrees... It's coming!!

IG

Bob Houses
 

with the ice melting, I was just wondering how many of those bob houses do you think are on the bottom of the lake? How do people manage to get them off when things get slushy? I was up last week and saw a few folks taking them off the lake but it seems if people wait too much longer it could be a tough and risky task.

Judging by the way things are progressing think there is a very good chance the ice is gone 2 -3 weeks from now. That sure would be nice.

island of barndoor
 

island of barndoor: check your PM

Wow cool... I guess I'll be on the Island sooner than I thought????? :)

Silver Sands Cam
 

Does any one know when Silver Sands starts their daily pictures of Saunders Bay? The ones posted from the last couple of years are awesome.

Thanks,
The Breeze
Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back:)

I'll check with Chris tomorrow, I have to talk to him anyhow.

Ice-out
 

DRH
I always look forward to your pictures near Minge Cove, where I keep my boat. It finally looks like Spring is here. Thank you!

This is a riot, I just said to my wife. It's time for my yearly visit to lake.cc to see how ice out is going. I feel like I never left, same people posting the same great info, and still the best place to visit for lake info.

Thanks everyone!

I guess I'm missing something here. I believe Marcucci is refering to this site but what's "lake.cc"?

Mirror of winni.com
 

www.lake.cc is a mirror website to winni.com. I remember a message either posted on home page or sent by webmaster Don that in the event of slow performance due to high volume of users lake.cc was a good alternate path.
It seems to be live if Marcucci posted there and we see it here. Does that mean that all photos are on both sites as well?

Scroll to the bottom of the Home Page

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/

BT

There is only one site. Lake.cc points to winnipesaukee.com. This was done just for convenience since many people have trouble spelling Winnipesaukee.

Can we make it 4-5 weeks! This is my first year joining the ice out contest and I would at least like to come in fairly close! Come on April 29th!

Looks like 2 weeks
 

Judging by the water temps at the dam ( last 3 years spent 9 days at 36 degrees) we have about 11 more days till the water hits 40 degrees at the dam. Ice out occurs at 40 degrees. Forcast for next 10 days is warm. Two weeks to put away that snow machine and get the boat ready!

The three week indicator near me has begun to show, so I'm thinking my guess of the 20'th will be a few days late. Saw five snomobiles on the lake today, some of them were enjoying a skim in open water along the shoreline.

Warm Water and Strong Winds
 

Although warm water certainly is a major factor, I believe the biggest factor is strong winds to go along with the warm water. Once the small areas around the shore and around rocks starts to open, the wind is what rips the ice apart.

Early next week is looking like it will be a bit on the windy side and it looks like it will also be windy from April 6th to April 10th.

It could be an early ice out.

R2B

Those of you who guessed late April in the Ice-Out contest shouldn't give up hope. Just remember 2001. That year almost the entire lake was clear of ice by late April but a strong NW wind created a large ice mass that blocked Wolfeboro Harbor until May 2nd when the official Ice-Out was called. By that time the spring boating season was well underway but since the Mount could not reach all of its ports the official Ice-Out could not be declared.

Check our Ice-Out page for past Ice-Out dates and many webcams where you can view the progress yourself.

Right now there is still plenty of ice. Here's a picture from yesterday. That's Eagle Island in the foreground:

You're Welcome!
 

I'm planning to walk over to the upper parking lot at the marina this weekend and take a picture overlooking the slips. I'll post it here so all who have slips there can see the current ice conditions.

I saw Meredith Bay on the WMUR live cam this morning and there was an entire open strip of water. Looking promising! :)

I'd rather be wrong with my guess (Apr 20) so we can have an early ice out!!!

The extended forecast shows above freezing temperatures at night through next Tuesday. If accurate, the pace of ice melting will accelerate as we won't have the re-freeze at night and the melting will be around the clock for several days.

Great Picture!
Our place is located upper right on Bear Island
Can we get an update of this photo every week:laugh:

I have a feeling my April 11th guess will be right,or pretty darn close!

I should have added that the picture was taken by flyguy from Lakes Region Aerial Photography. He's posted several recent aerials on PhotoPost. I'm sure we'll get some more updates as Ice-Out approaches.

Here's another one of flyguy's pictures from 3/25/09:

Flyguy,

I'm sure I speak for many of the regulars on this site in thanking you for your frequent posts of our beloved area from the sky, especially during the change of seasons. It gives us grounded folk a different and interesting perspective.

btw, Merrymeeting is a lovely lake to photograph from above if you have the time. :D

Question...
 

OK you ice experts, does the darkness in the ice that shows up on the various webcams today really "mean" anything or is it just because it is black ice, not snow ice.

Blue Thunder

Ice thickness
 

There is some water on top of the ice on Meredith Bay and several places around the lake. I think that is what you see on the cams. The ice is still a foot thick at the edge of our bubblers and I saw seven sleds go all the way down Meredith Bay about an hour ago. They were throwing up lots of slush and water as they went by and I don't think that I'd be doing that. :eek:

Minge Cove Marina
 

These photos of Minge Cove Marina were taken this afternoon. The slips are still mostly iced in, but there is now open water at the entrance to the marina.

We've not had much ice as usual over here on Champlain, excepting the bays of course. Looks like they're getting down to the final phase as well. Boats have been out fishing in front of our place for two weeks now.

I found this description of the ice out process while surfing the net. Some of it seems to make sense.

How Lake Ice Melts
1. In the late fall, the lake loses heat to the atmosphere, and then on a day or night when the wind is not blowing, ice forms. The ice gets thicker as long as the lake can continue to lose heat.

2. In most Januaries and Februaries, snow both reflects sunlight and insulates the lake. With a thick snow layer, the lake neither gains nor loses heat. The bottom sediment is actually heating the lake water slightly over the winter, from stored summer heat.

3. Around March, as the air warms and the sun gets more intense, the snow melts, allowing light to penetrate the ice. Because the ice acts like the glass in a greenhouse, the water beneath it begins to warm, and the ice begins to melt FROM THE BOTTOM.

4. When the ice thickness erodes to between 4 and 12 inches, it transforms into long vertical crystals called "candles." These conduct light even better, so the ice starts to look black, because it is not reflecting much sunlight.

5. Warming continues because the light energy is being transferred to the water below the ice. Meltwater fills in between the crystals, which begin breaking apart. The surface appears grayish as the ice reflects a bit more light than before.

6. The wind comes up, and breaks the surface apart. The candles will often be blown to one side of the lake, making a tinkling sound as they knock against one another, and piling up on the shore. In hours, a sparkling blue lake, once again!


BT

1. In the late fall, the lake loses heat to the atmosphere, and then on a day or night when the wind is not blowing, ice forms. The ice gets thicker as long as the lake can continue to lose heat.

2. In most Januaries and Februaries, snow both reflects sunlight and insulates the lake. With a thick snow layer, the lake neither gains nor loses heat. The bottom sediment is actually heating the lake water slightly over the winter, from stored summer heat.

3. Around March, as the air warms and the sun gets more intense, the snow melts, allowing light to penetrate the ice. Because the ice acts like the glass in a greenhouse, the water beneath it begins to warm, and the ice begins to melt FROM THE BOTTOM.

4. When the ice thickness erodes to between 4 and 12 inches, it transforms into long vertical crystals called "candles." These conduct light even better, so the ice starts to look black, because it is not reflecting much sunlight.

5. Warming continues because the light energy is being transferred to the water below the ice. Meltwater fills in between the crystals, which begin breaking apart. The surface appears grayish as the ice reflects a bit more light than before.

6. The wind comes up, and breaks the surface apart. The candles will often be blown to one side of the lake, making a tinkling sound as they knock against one another, and piling up on the shore. In hours, a sparkling blue lake, once again!


Great description. I can visually see it happening from my perch here in hot humid Florida. And I can remember that tinkling sound and seeing that sparkling blue lake. Can the black flies and mosquitoes be far behind. Time to get the flyrod out.