2018 Ice Out Progress

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Music Man

Currently looks like 8"-12" of snow this Wednesday-Thursday.

Of course, they were also saying 3"-5", or 1"-3", or just rain... depending on what time you looked at the reports.


Salmon - yum!

Yup...could really screw up the early ice out I was hoping for!

Dan

[SAB1]

Good news. Fire up the sled.............

[jeffk]

The thing is about snow this time of year, it is more of an annoyance. There are a lot of bare spots showing and a foot of snow will not be enough to groom or make the ice safe. The high temps after the storm are supposed to be around 40 for the next 5 days so melting will continue. Yeah, it might slow ice out a bit but no hard freeze is in the forecast. Accuweather only predicts one day through the end of March that will be below freezing for a high temp.

I have a dirt driveway and it is muddy now. The guy who plows will not be able to clear it fully because he would dig up the mud. So he will clear the upper layer and pack down the rest. All the rest will be slush the next day.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by jeffk

The thing is about snow this time of year, it is more of an annoyance. There are a lot of bare spots showing and a foot of snow will not be enough to groom or make the ice safe. The high temps after the storm are supposed to be around 40 for the next 5 days so melting will continue. Yeah, it might slow ice out a bit but no hard freeze is in the forecast. Accuweather only predicts one day through the end of March that will be below freezing for a high temp.

I have a dirt driveway and it is muddy now. The guy who plows will not be able to clear it fully because he would dig up the mud. So he will clear the upper layer and pack down the rest. All the rest will be slush the next day.

Yes, my driveway is dirt as well. I plow wth a blade on my Kubota and will need to keep the blade lifted a few inches to avoid the muddy mess below. As you say, the snow will pack well.

[ishoot308]

So much for my hopeful thoughts of an early April ice out! With the snow cover we received yesterday and the upcoming 10 day forecast for lows in the teens and low to mid 20's, things are definitely not looking good!! Possibly more snow on Monday now too!!

Here is a pic from this morning

Sheesh!...

Dan

[Hillcountry]

It ain’t over til the fat lady sings, Dan!

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

Congratulations....way to ruin another thread with your insatiable desire to inject politics into any topic!

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by PaugusBayFireFighter

Congratulations....way to ruin another thread with your insatiable desire to inject politics into any topic!

No politics...just an old saying with a pic of a fat lady! First one that came up when I googled fat lady!

[fatlazyless]

From the water temperature page, 39-degrees on March 6 is a lot warmer than other years, so what's warming up the water?

Is there a new nuclear power plant hidden away somewhere in Tuftonboro, that discharges warm water in the lake, or what?

[SAB1]

There were active water bars flowing water to the lake the weekend of the Winni Derby and they never refroze. Earliest I recall seeing them in many years.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

From the water temperature page, 39-degrees on March 6 is a lot warmer than other years, so what's warming up the water?

Your right! ...The last time the temperature was this warm at this time of year was in 2012 and ice out occurred on March 23rd! This recent storm and upcoming colder weather is what will extend ice out unfortunately!!

Dan

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

From the water temperature page, 39-degrees on March 6 is a lot warmer than other years, so what's warming up the water?

Is there a new nuclear power plant hidden away somewhere in Tuftonboro, that discharges warm water in the lake, or what?

Nuclear reactors don't discharge warm water, the cooling towers takes some of the steam/water vapor and turns it back into water. This water along with fresh water is fed back into the reactor and starts the process all over again.
You must of seen the big cooling towers near the reactor.

[lakershaker]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Nuclear reactors don't discharge warm water, the cooling towers takes some of the steam/water vapor and turns it back into water. This water along with fresh water is fed back into the reactor and starts the process all over again.
You must of seen the big cooling towers near the reactor.

Some nuclear plants have cooling towers, but others (like nearby Seabrook Station) don't. Seabrook has a massive tunnel going into the ocean to cool the water.

From the picture link, you can see - no tower! But, I don't think it is close enough to the lake to be the root cause

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by lakershaker

Some nuclear plants have cooling towers, but others (like nearby Seabrook Station) don't. Seabrook has a massive tunnel going into the ocean to cool the water.

From the picture link, you can see - no tower! But, I don't think it is close enough to the lake to be the root cause

Your mostly right as Seabrook doesnt use cooling towers but it does have some as a backup for the unlikely evnt of an earthquake closing the intake tunnels.
From an article:
That step requires federal approval because the cooling tower is used as a failsafe in the event a major earthquake closes the tunnels that bring seawater into the plant to cool the reactor.

[ishoot308]

Good Lord!

4 degrees for a low on Saturday, 7 degrees for a low on Sunday, 9 degrees for a low on Monday, more snow on Wednesday and Thursday.... Being at my camp with an umbrella drink on April 1st is definitely out!! At this rate, I'm hoping to be out there May 1st!!! I hate the month of March!!

Rant mode off...

Dan

[MikeF-NH]

I feel your pain Dan. I'm trying to find a silver lining in all this and it is: all this snow will insultate the ice someone from the frigid overnight temps this weekend and hopefully prevent ice GROWTH. Meanwhile, I'm hoping the ice is being eaten away from the water below. With higher sun and most daytime temps above freezing (except this weekend)...I've got hope that the ice is decaying everyday and that we still see ice out by mid-April (I'm a dreamer).

Boat pickup from storage is March 31....still dreaming....

[FamFire]

May not be able to get the boat in on 4/1, but should be able to cast a few lines.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by FamFire

May not be able to get the boat in on 4/1, but should be able to cast a few lines.

Where was the pic taken at??...

Dan

[MikeF-NH]

I drove by Massebessic today and was suprised that the entire west side looks wide open. The east side also looked mostly open with some ice in coves but in front of the park was wide open. I don't usually watch Massy as a sign for how close Winni is to ice out but have to imagine they can't be more than a few weeks apart.

Seeing the open water along the shorelines in the webcams in encouraging as it will give ice room to move in the wind and perhaps crack or weaken...though no signs of that on the big lake yet. I'm disappointed that a few cams are no longer functioning that were major indicators for me. One was Black Cat and the other was in Alton Bay. The remaining cams are not great for progress checking. I may have to take a drive around the lake next weekend.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Nuclear reactors don't discharge warm water, the cooling towers takes some of the steam/water vapor and turns it back into water. This water along with fresh water is fed back into the reactor and starts the process all over again.
You must of seen the big cooling towers near the reactor.

Seabrook Station discharged warm water back into the ocean after the cooling process. There are intake and discharge lines that extend a few miles offshore. There used to be good fishing in that area

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...charge_tunnels

Looks like someone beat me to it!