Ice In

[fatlazyless]

Today is Friday, Feb 2, 2024 which is the first day of the 2024 Pond Hockey tournament in Meredith NH that was moved from Lake Winnipesaukee to nearby Lake Waukewan, one mile south, due to insufficient ice surface on Meredith bay. Is the 15th year for this event that draws hundreds of hockey players from all over for three days of organized ice hockey, and various off-ice activities.

It actually looks like the weather will very good with sunshine and colder temps forecast for Saturday and Sunday, while today, Friday, could have some soft ice surface later in the day with temps getting up to 38-degrees, today.

There's been exactly zero sunshine for the last 7-days, one solid week of gray cloudiness, so having the sun and the cold, below freezing temps on Sat and Sun should be a very happy ending for what's been a very challenging hockey ice situation due to recent warm weather. Apparently, the weather will get cold enough and the sun will show up to make the Pond Hockey a very happening outdoor event. A happy ice hockey event will still be happening despite what was an unusually warm month of January. Looks like the weather is finally going cold and sunny just at the correct hockey time on Feb 2, 3, & 4.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

The changes the webmaster made TODAY allow that to happen.

I actually made the same comments last year when it appeared there was a small chance the lake wouldn't completely freeze. I think it was the best way to deal with the contest if that happened.

[The Real BigGuy]

I have a question. If Ice Out is when the Mount can reach all its ports, why isn’t Ice In when it cannot reach all its ports?


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[John Mercier]

I believe tradition.
Emerson may have come up with that definition years ago... as any ice in any of the ports would mean Ice In... even if the ice only extended a few feet out in any of the ports.

[ishoot308]

February 2nd and no ice to be seen anywhere from my home and vantage point… Highly doubtful for an ice in this year…

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

February 2nd and no ice to be seen anywhere from my home and vantage point… Highly doubtful for an ice in this year…

I’m good with March boating.

All open north of Diamond up to Steamboat. That seems to be the ice line. Open around Sandy as well. I imagine the broads side of Rattlesnake is wide open, but we have a band of ice between route 11 and Rattlesnake. South of Sleepers and Rattlesnake is open to the mouth of the bay. There were no shacks on the bay last night when I went through, just a few brave souls fishing.

[Bear Guy]

A snip from today's MODIS imagery:

[codeman671]

A friend sent me this picture taken at Cattle Landing yesterday.

[fatlazyless]

You could launch a jet ski or a 12' rowboat at Cattle Landing by rolling it on foam noodles, through the 60"-wide opening in the blue fence, and down the smooth grassy/snowy embankment into the water. Probably just sliding it over the hard snow on the slope and into that open water to the right of the town dock.

[daveschappell]

Originally Posted by codeman671

I’m good with March boating.

All open north of Diamond up to Steamboat. That seems to be the ice line. Open around Sandy as well. I imagine the broads side of Rattlesnake is wide open, but we have a band of ice between route 11 and Rattlesnake. South of Sleepers and Rattlesnake is open to the mouth of the bay. There were no shacks on the bay last night when I went through, just a few brave souls fishing.

This is a panorama (taken today Feb 4, 2024) of the Broads side of Rattlesnake, shot from Wolfeboro Neck. See Parker Island on left and Rattlesnake on right.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

February 2nd and no ice to be seen anywhere from my home and vantage point… Highly doubtful for an ice in this year…

Hey Dan!
Is that snowcapped, Mt Chocorua in the distance?

[DickR]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

...
Is that snowcapped, Mt Chocorua in the distance?

Resolution is limited, but that white bump just to the right of center seems to be Mt Shaw, in the Ossipees, and the white peaks in the left third of the picture likely are in the Paugus range. From the top of Gunstock, the very tip of Chocorua can be seen poking up above the ridge heading south from Mt Roberts, at the north end of the Ossipees. After skiing down a short distance, that bit of Chocorua disappears behind the ridge, so it wouldn't be seen from down on rte 11.

[edit Feb 7] The Gunstock top webcam view (https://www.gunstock.com/discover/webcams/) shows how the tip of Chocorua peeks up above the ridge to the right (south) of Mt Roberts. Of course, on a day like today, with great visibility, the snowy cone of Mt Washington appears further off, to the left of Mt Roberts in that shot.

[codeman671]

From my vantage point everything I can see this morning is skimmed over. Possibly a few strips of open water to the north that I can’t quite make out with binos.

Cold tonight but after that a warm up. Will be interesting to see if it lasts.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by codeman671

From my vantage point everything I can see this morning is skimmed over. Possibly a few strips of open water to the north that I can’t quite make out with binos.

Cold tonight but after that a warm up. Will be interesting to see if it lasts.

Yup! Same here definitely iced over! It may not last the afternoon but if Emerson flew over, he definitely could declare ice in today if only for a few hours!

Dan

[ishoot308]

Not sure why ice in has not been declared...The broads from my view are fully iced in and have been for a couple days now, this includes the area between Welch and Ellacoya which is always last to freeze. My cameras on Welch show no open water anywhere also...

Maybe Emerson just doesn't feel like flying??...

Dan.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Not sure why ice in has not been declared...The broads from my view are fully iced in and have been for a couple days now, this includes the area between Welch and Ellacoya which is always last to freeze. My cameras on Welch show no open water anywhere also...

Maybe Emerson just doesn't feel like flying??...

Dan.

The airport has been closed since Monday from 8 am to 4 pm, hopefully be back open tomorrow. Trees needed to be removed from approach paths.

[BoatHouse]

Is it possible to have Ice in and Ice out on the same day?

Probably not given the "Ice Out" requirements

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by BoatHouse

Is it possible to have Ice in and Ice out on the same day?

Probably not given the "Ice Out" requirements

In my freezer ice maker, every day.

[Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance]

Check out our latest fb post with ice update video from Tim McDonald, Marine Solutions.

https://www.facebook.com/lakewinnipesaukeeassociation

[upthesaukee]

Pilot Dave Emerson declared ice in today.

Dave

https://www.wmur.com/article/ice-in-...-2024/46698704

[codeman671]

So much for ice in…

Back to open water south of Welch and south of Rattlenake.

[granitebox]

check out the water temps - they have been rising pretty consistently - topped out at 40 yesterday during the day - the ice won't last long

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by codeman671

So much for ice in…

Back to open water south of Welch and south of Rattlenake.

Yup, didn’t last long!

Dan

[fatlazyless]

Wednesday, Feb 14, 7-am; looking at the Snake Eyes Cam and all the ice is totally open water with waves and white caps. Miles of ice done got beat up by the wind and warm temps overnight or something from Rattlesnake to Tuftonboro/Wolfeboro.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Hey Dan!
Is that snowcapped, Mt Chocorua in the distance?

Sorry for the slow reply Hill just saw your post...but to answer your question, I am not certain!

I know if you enlarge the pic (much easier to see before forum compressed pic) you can see the top of Mt Washington...

Dan

[codeman671]

The wind is really taking its toll on the ice by Rattlesnake. Yesterday Diamond was connected over to Ames Farm by ice, but by this morning that was gone and the waves are eating up everything to the south.

A few pictures from this morning.

[ishoot308]

I don't see the lake re-freezing...high winds and temps for the next 14 days are too mild during the day...then after that we are in March...

It will make for a long boating season!...

Ice Out = March 15th. You heard it here first!!

Dan

[Skippermark]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Wednesday, Feb 14, 7-am; looking at the Snake Eyes Cam and all the ice is totally open water with waves and white caps.

Pretty windy out there today. The Windfinder site is showing winds around 20 with a gust over 43 at 9:55 AM.

https://www.windfinder.com/report/gilford_winnipesaukee

[ishoot308]

Wind was brutal last night! Gusts to 40 mph on the island! Must have devastated what little ice is left!

Dan

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Wind was brutal last night! Gusts to 40 mph on the island! Must have devastated what little ice is left!

Dan

Todays photo dump shows considerable ice loss on both ends of this area.

We had winds to 45mph yesterday on the hill and 34.7mph so far since midnight. My weather station can be seen live at www.ambientweather.net. Pretty neat to be able to see all of the different locations monitoring around the lake.

[Descant]

If there is little or no ice fishing this year does that bode well for next summer or winter?

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Descant

If there is little or no ice fishing this year does that bode well for next summer or winter?

Ice fishing has little to no effect on the fishery in general. If anything ice fishing helps cull some of the extreme over abundance of lake trout in the lake!

I think the biggest effect of no or little ice cover, is an increase of invasive weed growth, especially in shallow water and coves. This is due to the increased amount of sunlight getting through to the bottom stimulating photosynthesis …one of the reasons I am not a fan of bubblers or ice eaters…

Dan

[fatlazyless]

So, will the broads area from Rattlesnake to Tuftonboro/Wolfeboro shown in the Snake Eyes Cam be re-freez'n in the next 24 to 48 hours? My best guess is ..... maybe!

The WinniCam water temp in the Weirs channel says 36-degrees.

The NH DES water temp graph in this website says it is currently down to 34.75-degrees.

If I were to make a bet on it, I would say fuhgetaboutit because I never bet on anything or buy any lottery tickets, never ....... but who knows ...... maybe it will actually freeze solid, once again?

Its been feeling a LOT like real winter, the last few days just in time for the big Massachusetts school vacation ski week? Is now time to be doing an ice dance if you care about the Lake Winnipesaukee ice freezing all totally solid ice

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

So, will the broads area from Rattlesnake to Tuftonboro/Wolfeboro shown in the Snake Eyes Cam be re-freez'n in the next 24 to 48 hours? My best guess is ..... maybe!

Not a chance in my opinion…From my view, the broads are totally open from Governors Island to Blacks Point at the mouth of Alton. Nothing but wind and white caps! Winds are currently gusting to 28 mph with no let up till sometime tomorrow. Temps back up in the low to mid 40’s for Thursday and Friday with rain coming in on Friday….

Enjoy a very early ice out this year!

Dan

[codeman671]

The last few mornings have been glazed over out front, but by late morning it was gone again. The band between Rattlesnake and Rt 11 is still holding in there, but it should take a beating today with the wind. High gust 0f 35.6mph since midnight.

I am still seeing snowmobiles out by our place on East Bear. Too hearty for me!

[retired]

Declaration of ice in seems pointless when the lake freezes over one night and the wind opens it up again the next day or two. Maybe the criteria needs to change to having the ice stay for a period of time. Maybe one week. Ice in is declared one day and ice out the next???

[ishoot308]

Even Opechee is wide open!

[chachee52]

Originally Posted by retired

Declaration of ice in seems pointless when the lake freezes over one night and the wind opens it up again the next day or two. Maybe the criteria needs to change to having the ice stay for a period of time. Maybe one week. Ice in is declared one day and ice out the next???

I agree, I never saw any ice on the broads and I was there right before it was supposedly declared, and that afternoon and it was all wide open. So it must have been an hour or 2 that there was ice. But that's just one set of eyes.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by chachee52

I agree, I never saw any ice on the broads and I was there right before it was supposedly declared, and that afternoon and it was all wide open. So it must have been an hour or 2 that there was ice. But that's just one set of eyes.

It was actually iced in for three days. Emerson didn’t fly over till the third day when he declared ice in. The time and date of ice in is all determined when Emerson feels like flying….

Dan

[Descant]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

It was actually iced in for three days. Emerson didn’t fly over till the third day when he declared ice in. The time and date of ice in is all determined when Emerson feels like flying….

Dan

I recall that week, the runway was closed due to tree work at the end of the runway.

[ITD]

So this ice in business is getting a little out of hand imo. For the purposes of this board ice in should mean the inability of the Mount to get to all her ports and leave it at that. If you make this into a science project you could argue that the lake never technically ices in, there is always unfrozen water in the lake.

Declare “ice in” when the Mount can’t make her ports, ice out when it finally can. Keep the gate keeper of when Emerson, with the understanding that he gets up when he is able and that could be days off from when each event happens due to circumstances beyond his control. But his declaration is final unless the webmaster decides otherwise.

[John Mercier]

Emerson declares Ice In and Ice Out as is tradition.

[steve-on-mark]

At the end of the day, it's supposed to be just a fun thing that we can look forward to...a signal that Islanders can get back to their places and people can start thinking about the upcoming boating season. If the ports are clogged up , but it's clear from Glendale to Mark, I go! If not, I wait. Nothing more, nothing less... pretty simple.

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[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by steve-on-mark

At the end of the day, it's supposed to be just a fun thing that we can look forward to...a signal that Islanders can get back to their places and people can start thinking about the upcoming boating season. If the ports are clogged up , but it's clear from Glendale to Mark, I go! If not, I wait. Nothing more, nothing less... pretty simple.

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Well said Steve!

We will be out there sooner than later this year!

Dan

[Biggd]

I saw my shadow today, 6 more weeks until the boat goes in the water.

[C-Bass]

The ice looks pretty thick up through moultonborough bay. Not sure how thick but I have seen plenty of activity on the ice in recent weeks, especially 19mi bay up through states landing.

[fatlazyless]

Ok, so with the wonder of the internet it was easy to learn that Berlin NH has an air temp of minus 9-F, right now, while Wolfeboro NH has an air temp of plus 8-F. Berlin is 76-miles north of Wolfeboro, straight north up Route 16, so's in order to get Lake Winnipesaukee to freeze up, it maybe needs to get moved up to Berlin, which would also boost the local economy in Berlin.

And for now, the webcam shots on Snake Eyes and the BearCam remain lots of open water with absolutely no ice in sight on Snake Eyes?

[KPW]

Ice in should be declared when the Mount can't make it's rounds. Nobody should base ice conditions on anything other than checking the thickness.

[John Mercier]

That is something you will need to argue with Emerson.
Tradition is that when he flies over and cannot see open water... he declares Ice In.

[tis]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

That is something you will need to argue with Emerson.
Tradition is that when he flies over and cannot see open water... he declares Ice In.

Tradition now but not when I was a kid.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

That is something you will need to argue with Emerson.
Tradition is that when he flies over and cannot see open water... he declares Ice In.

I'm with you on this one. I see no problem with "ice-in" being when the lake is completely iced over. Of course there will always be a spot, such as the Weirs channel, that typically never freezes but it is what it is.

Every year I say the same thing, ice-out to me personally is when I can pick my boat up in the Weirs channel, access Glendale, Gilford Yacht Club and Mark/Bear Island. Those are my ports.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by codeman671

I'm with you on this one. I see no problem with "ice-in" being when the lake is completely iced over. Of course there will always be a spot, such as the Weirs channel, that typically never freezes but it is what it is.

Every year I say the same thing, ice-out to me personally is when I can pick my boat up in the Weirs channel, access Glendale, Gilford Yacht Club and Mark/Bear Island. Those are my ports.

I agree! I like it the way it is...Ice in is usually telling islanders it won't be long before you can walk out to your camps to check on things. It's also telling ice fishermen and other outdoor sports enthusiast won't be long before you can enjoy the hard water! Of course for safety reasons, you always check the ice yourself before venturing out! Yes Emerson sometimes has it wrong but for the most part he does a great job and does not charge for his services and like Steve said above, it's all in fun and tradition.

Ice out is when the mount can safely make her ports and the rest of the lake is usually ice free. I like that! I can usually easily make it to my camp on Welch by boat at least a week before official ice out is declared...I like that too!!

Dan

[John Mercier]

Emerson didn't even do it when I was a kid...

But it is now so embedded that even national news media picks up on it.

[chachee52]

Emerson didn't need to call Ice In in the past because it ALWAYS froze by the beginning of Jan, sometimes earlier.
Just saying

[tis]

Originally Posted by chachee52

Emerson didn't need to call Ice In in the past because it ALWAYS froze by the beginning of Jan, sometimes earlier.
Just saying

It usually was around the third week of Jan before the broads were all frozen in.

[C-Bass]

Looks like the lake is iced back in again...

[geordie]

First reason to stick with the current method is consistency. If you change how you measure ice in and out then you can't compare dates anymore. Second is that this is simple, ice in is when the whole lake is covered, ice out is when all the ports are free. It's easy to check both. If you made ice-in when the ports are iced then you could get ice-in from a cold snap and then ice-out the next day when a warm wind turns up. The events that bracket the iced in period have to be well separated. There needs to be hysteresis.

[chachee52]

Originally Posted by tis

It usually was around the third week of Jan before the broads were all frozen in.

When I was a kid, I was out snowmobiling across the broads by the 2nd/3rd week of Jan, usually ice skating off the beach New Years-ish. It's been later and later each year until we finally got rid of the snowmobiles mid 90s because we didn't use them enough because the ice was in later and less snow.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I don't see the lake re-freezing...high winds and temps for the next 14 days are too mild during the day...then after that we are in March...

It will make for a long boating season!...

Ice Out = March 15th. You heard it here first!!

Dan

I'm going to be very close...I may have to change my login name to "NostraDanus"!!

Dan

[tis]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I'm going to be very close...I may have to change my login name to "NostraDanus"!!

Dan

I picked the 15th (not here) also but not sure it is going to make it????

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I'm going to be very close...I may have to change my login name to "NostraDanus"!!

Dan

Checking the forum rule book to see if there's anything about " blowing your own horn"...

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[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by steve-on-mark

Checking the forum rule book to see if there's anything about " blowing your own horn"...

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There isn’t I checked!

[steve-on-mark]

A wise man once said " he who toots his own horn won't be invited back into the orchestra anytime soon"!

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[codeman671]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

There isn’t I checked!

Doesn't look like that horn will be blowing today unfortunately. My boats go in tomorrow, so it still "ice out" for me.