Ice-Out 2008

[rander7823]

Only 17 Days and 3 hours left until Ice Out

[bilproject]

I think 17 days was about 9 days too long for ice out. There's 6" of ice and 19 inches of frozen rain soaked snow. By the looks of cracks and plates forming 2 days in the 50's and a good wind would turn it into a giant slurpie. Now all I have to do is dig the boat out.

[sum-r breeze]

I heard somewhere, (maybe WMUR) that a couple of trucks went through the ice in Alton earlier this week. Any info on that? The ice wasn't thick enough for them I guess.

The Breeze
Wave 'Cuz I'll be Wavin' Back

[upthesaukee]

Didn't go through the ice...they sank down in the slushy snow on top of ice and had to be pulled off ice. boat ramp access in Alton is now closed off.

[Blue Thunder]

Hey UP,
At what point will you be taking your semi-daily pictures of ice out in Alton Bay?

BT

[chipj29]

I drive through Manchester daily, and drive by Stevens Pond, which is right next to/under I-93. In a typical season, that pond is ice free ~3 weeks before ice out on Lake Winni. As of this AM, it still has a decent amount of ice on it, but it is receding, and it looks real thin right on the edge closest to the highway. I would guess that it will be ice free around Monday. Ice out on track for the last week of April IMO.

BTW, my ice out guess is very early May.

[Chris Exley]

Hey all,

I think I ask this every year. Planning to open camp the week of April 22. Need to know if I bring the boat or not.

Can someone provide regular updates on Mirror Lake?

Thanks.
Chris

[Orion]

Looks like the water temp is about 2 weeks behind last year. Are we looking at a May Ice Out?!!!!!!!!

[NHDOLFAN]

Each day I drive by the lake, Wolfeboro area, as a way to get rid of the winter blues. I must say that each day the ice seems to pull away from land more and more. In addition, the color of the ice is a blueish color. Wolfeboro Bay is open more than last year, so hopefully this means the ice is weakening. We'll see! I'm thinking April 26th!

[Weirs guy]

Thats it, I'm buying an icebreaker!

[ladyslipper]

[Webbsatwinni]

Great shot Ladyslipper.

That would be a great scene if this was December 30th, but March 30th? Will ice out ever come?

[nj2nh]

This shot is from Alton Bay, looking northish, right? Sure looks like Echo Point dead center.

nj2nh

[ladyslipper]

You can see a hint of the propeller spinning.
In the center of the pic is Rattlesnake Island.

[Merrymeeting]

We made our first visit of 08 to the lake today.

The bad news,

• local fisherman told me he was using an ice auger this week and still seeing close to 2' of ice in many areas
• While we were opimistic on the drive as the snow didn't seem as bad as I expected in many areas, around the lake it is at least 2' and more in many areas

The good news,

• We're supposed to see several sunny days in the 60's this week!
• I took a long walk and you could hear lots of water running everywhere. It is melting fast
• The water temp bumped up for awhile this week
• The snow and ice are porous and break easily when stepped on
• At least the melt is slow and controlled. If all this had melted at once, we'd be complaining about mass flooding

Spring's coming, it's just taking it's time.

[ladyslipper]

Hopefully this attaches correctly.

[nj2nh]

Maybe you all could start throwing rocks at the ice or something to break it up? How about using blow dryers and really, really long extention cords? Perhaps you could start taking water out of the lake, heating on the stove and pouring it back in?

Ice Out is supposed to be April 15th, ya know! Well, that's the date I picked anyway.

nj2nh

[Grady223]

Seems to me the main culpret in the deicification of the Lake is the temperature of the water. The warmer water eats at the ice from below. Wind plays a part as the ice gets thin enough to break up and be more actively mixed with the water (like stirring a drink). 40 degrees seems to be the key water temperature - very shortly after the water temp gets to 40 ice is out. Here is the history since 2002.

Year Ice Out Temp Reached 40 deg
2002 4/4 4/3
2003 4/25 4/20
2004 4/20 4/14
2005 4/20 4/17
2006 4/3 4/1
2007 4/23 4/23

[Grady223]

Originally Posted by Grady223

Seems to me the main culpret in the deicification of the Lake is the temperature of the water. The warmer water eats at the ice from below. Wind plays a part as the ice gets thin enough to break up and be more actively mixed with the water (like stirring a drink). 40 degrees seems to be the key water temperature - very shortly after the water temp gets to 40 ice is out. Here is the history since 2002.

Year Ice Out Temp Reached 40 deg
2002 4/4 4/3
2003 4/25 4/20
2004 4/20 4/14
2005 4/20 4/17
2006 4/3 4/1
2007 4/23 4/23

Well, I guess 40 degree is once again the key - reached 40 on Tuesday, Ice Out Wednesday.

[Skip]

The webmaster's conversation with the pilot's wife as to ice-out being declared last night at 8:00 pm is confirmed this afternoon by THIS AP wire story posted this afternoon on the Union Leader website!

[TimmyG]

As a first timer to all of this Ice-Out I have to say this was the most unproductive week of work ever.

I have systems check at 8 am and then off we go! I got my friend in Chicago all excited about this event! He was even watching the webcams.

Hope to see everyone soon.

TG

[Gavia immer]

8 PM? Isn't Ice-out easier to see during daylight hours?

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by chipj29

I drive through Manchester daily, and drive by Stevens Pond, which is right next to/under I-93. In a typical season, that pond is ice free ~3 weeks before ice out on Lake Winni. As of this AM, it still has a decent amount of ice on it, but it is receding, and it looks real thin right on the edge closest to the highway. I would guess that it will be ice free around Monday. Ice out on track for the last week of April IMO.

BTW, my ice out guess is very early May.

Well I was off by a day, but ice out on Stevens Pond in Manchester is hereby declared by yours truly, today, April 8th. Therefore, ice out on Lake Winni is on schedule for April 29th. It is 3 days before my guess, but I am still in the game.

[csuhockey3]

Hey Folks,

My Dad was out flying today and sent me some pictures. He asked I share them with you all to show just how much ice is out there! I added them to the photopost/spring section. I was surprised, it looks more like February!

[michael c]

coming from Meredith today ,towards the weirs ,at the top of the hill above colorshed ,you can see whatappears to be open water from Eagle island all the way over to spindle point. I am sure its not open water [quite a distance and I was traveling 40-45 miles an hour = - but I believe it is VERY gray ice ,just looking for a reason to sink,,,, when you exit the channel from Paugus bay out onto the "lake " the ice is gone all the way over to all of the docks at the weirs ...all open water ,maybe a few hundred feet from shore ..Paugus is open from channel marine out to a bit past 4 seasons condo's ,,,the ice at the merdith docks are not safe for ducks to walk on ...I stick with my guess ,,,what was it? April 23rd around 2:30 p.m. I really don't remember
Mike

[CanisLupusArctos]

Yesterday I saw a snowmobile traverse the lake from around Center Harbor down to Five-Mile Island. I can't remember the last time I saw snowmobiles on the ice in April. I saw another one this morning, towing something.

Last year at this time, there was significantly more open water. Most of the ice went out forcefully during the 60+ mph winds of the April 16 NorEaster.

This weekend's weather will likely have an impact, as we are expecting heavy rain. Runoff flowing into the lake rapidly will erode the shoreline ice more than it already is. The pounding rain on top of the ice will eat away at it.

At Black Cat WeatherCam the water temp at 10 feet has been holding steady at 35 for the last couple weeks, while the surface has been fluctuating. It's been reaching 35 in the daytime but the cold nights have been bringing it back to 33 and the surface of open water has been re-freezing. Last night was the first night I saw the surface temp stay above 33 all night... it was 34 this morning, and 10-foot depth is still 35.

[flyguy]

Hate to disappoint y'all, but flying over the lake today, we saw VERY little open water anywhere.

[Lakegeezer]

There are some rocks near us, where the water opens up about three weeks before ice-out. They opened today.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by chipj29

I drive through Manchester daily, and drive by Stevens Pond, which is right next to/under I-93. In a typical season, that pond is ice free ~3 weeks before ice out on Lake Winni. As of this AM, it still has a decent amount of ice on it, but it is receding, and it looks real thin right on the edge closest to the highway. I would guess that it will be ice free around Monday. Ice out on track for the last week of April IMO.

BTW, my ice out guess is very early May.

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

There are some rocks near us, where the water opens up about three weeks before ice-out. They opened today.

Sounds good to me.

[NHDOLFAN]

Do not be fooled by the current condition. The Lake Winni Gods know what a tough winter we had. As such, the Gods will shine down on us and open up the lake before May 1st.

[CanisLupusArctos]

For the first time since last fall, the water temp at the WeatherCam has shifted to summer pattern: Warmer water on top, colder water underneath (all winter long it's the opposite.)

Today the surface temp has risen to 36 while underneath remains at 35 (where it's been for the last several days despite fluctuations on the surface.)

[Merrymeeting]

Things are shifting quickly today.

• Area beside Silver Sands doc is now open water
• Since this morning, a large area on Ossipee Lake cam has opened up
• Alton Bay is opening fast
• During the day, ice in the sandbar area on Winnisquam has disappeared

What a difference a warm day makes!

[codeman671]

Judging by the Silver Sands page from last year comparing conditions to conditions, todays picture looks like it did on April 5th of 2007, basically 5 days behind.