Ice-Out 2012

[Blue Thunder]

Today's MODIS pic show the large opening near Rattlesnake very clearly.
The predicted temps of 60+ this week and much above normal 70s for the following week should make for ideal melting......

[Merrymeeting]

The WeatherCam 10 ft probe is showing temps above 40 for the first time. The water body is warming...

[Bear Island South]

Just watched the time lapse on the weirs cam, the ice really took a beating the last couple of hours.
We are in to single digits (9) until the first day of spring.

[Nagigator]

Originally Posted by bear island south

just watched the time lapse on the weirs cam, the ice really took a beating the last couple of hours.
We are in to single digits (9) until the first day of spring.

yippeeeeeeeeeee..........!!!

[meredith weekender]

The ten day forecast is showing some great daytime temps and above freezing for the next ten nights. The warmer nights should definitely help with moving this process along.

[ishoot308]

The ice in the Weirs looks like it could go out today or tomorrow! The Governors Island cam still looks locked up pretty solid however.

Ice out in 10 days!!

Dan

[Slickcraft]

More open water seen from the point today, Glendale docks still iced in.

[Merrymeeting]

Never thought I'd have so much fun watching ice melt

The Anchor Marine time lapse view shows noticeable ice retreat in the last few hours. The Minge Cove cam shows growing open water on the horizon. In the last few hours, several other views have gone from whitish to grey and wet.

With no below freezing temps in sight, I would not be surprised if some of those with Ice-Out guesses late this week are in the running.

I don't think it's a matter of if we have another record early ice-out. It's more when.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Today's MODIS pic show the large opening near Rattlesnake very clearly.
The predicted temps of 60+ this week and much above normal 70s for the following week should make for ideal melting......

Is Sebago really free of ice?

[crowsnest]

I Have March 23 @ 9am , its not looking to bad

[MAXUM]

With the ice disappearing so quickly I guess I better get around to replacing the impeller in my stern drive. I know what I'll be doing on Saturday.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

With the ice disappearing so quickly I guess I better get around to replacing the impeller in my stern drive. I know what I'll be doing on Saturday.

Gen 2 Alpha? Those last forever.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Gen 2 Alpha? Those last forever.

Wouldn't own anything else! It's an '03 Alpha I Gen 2

I've had a new impeller for it sitting on my workbench now for over a year and keep putting it off. Couple of hours in the garage pre-season beats a blown engine in the middle of the summer.

My last boat with a 94 Alpha I Gen 2 went 10 years before I replaced the impeller and it was probably still OK and my current boat will probably be in the same condition but having a new one in there is piece of mind I guess more than anything else. Heck it's a $20.00 part. I learned my lesson last time and didn't needlessly buy the entire housing kit.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Wouldn't own anything else! It's an '03 Alpha I Gen 2

I've had a new impeller for it sitting on my workbench now for over a year and keep putting it off. Couple of hours in the garage pre-season beats a blown engine in the middle of the summer.

My last boat with a 94 Alpha I Gen 2 went 10 years before I replaced the impeller and it was probably still OK and my current boat will probably be in the same condition but having a new one in there is piece of mind I guess more than anything else. Heck it's a $20.00 part. I learned my lesson last time and didn't needlessly buy the entire housing kit.

Those are great drives. The "floppy vane" impeller design change when they went to gen 2 was brilliant. I know some people hate changing the impeller in the drive, but it's a lot easier than changing the impeller on my engine in my Bravo 3 equipped boat. That Bravo pump is in an awful place to access and the impeller is only good for 2 seasons max. The only plus is that I don't have an oily mess to deal with when I change it.

[mas1992bc]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board as a contributor, but have been reading it for years. I setup a webcam at my house to monitor the progress of Ice-Out this year. It takes an image every 20 minutes during daylight hours and uploads it to a website I created that shows a time lapse video. I've only captured a few days so far, but I will continue to capture the images this entire month. Here's the link if you are interested. You can pause the slide show or select a specific image by just hovering over the image or the markers underneath the image.

http://ec2-23-21-133-74.compute-1.am....com/slideshow

(Note that if you are using Internet Explorer version 8 or lower, the site will prompt you to install a small Google plug-in called ChromeFrame - which is necessary for the animation)

Mike

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by mas1992bc

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board as a contributor, but have been reading it for years. I setup a webcam at my house to monitor the progress of Ice-Out this year. It takes an image every 20 minutes during daylight hours and uploads it to a website I created that shows a time lapse video. I've only captured a few days so far, but I will continue to capture the images this entire month. Here's the link if you are interested. You can pause the slide show or select a specific image by just hovering over the image or the markers underneath the image.

http://ec2-23-21-133-74.compute-1.am....com/chipmunks

(Note that if you are using Internet Explorer version 8 or lower, the site will prompt you to install a small Google plug-in called ChromeFrame - which is necessary for the animation)

Mike

Hi Mike;

Thanks for the web cam!! Just curious where on the lake is this??

Dan

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Hi Mike;

Thanks for the web cam!! Just curious where on the lake is this??

Dan

I guess up in narrows of Marlborough Bay.

[mas1992bc]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Hi Mike;

Thanks for the web cam!! Just curious where on the lake is this??

Dan

Hi Dan,

It is in the channel between Ambrose Cove and Moultonborough bay, just around the corner from Buzzel Cove.

Mike

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by mas1992bc

Hi Dan,

It is in the channel between Ambrose Cove and Moultonborough bay, just around the corner from Buzzel Cove.

Mike

You must be near the Clark's Landing / Bon Aire cottages?

[Island Girl]

I linked to this time lapse from the ice-out page along with a link to the Silver Sands daily picture. This way you can always find them.... and the other Winnipesaukee WebCams.

IG

soon, very very soon

[mas1992bc]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

I linked to this time lapse from the ice-out page along with a link to the Silver Sands daily picture. This way you can always find them.... and the other Winnipesaukee WebCams.

IG

soon, very very soon

Sorry, but I had to change the URL of the site (and it might have to change again - I'm trying to figure out where to host it without paying too much money for the hosting site). Your best bet is to put a link to my comcast site on the ICE-OUT page. My comcast site has a link to the webcam time lapse that I will keep updated and will always be correct. It is:

http://home.comcast.net/~mscopa

From that page, just click the "Lake Winnipesaukee Time Lapse Video" link. Sorry about the change.

Mike

[Island Girl]

Thanks for the update... I have replaced the link with the one you just posted.

IG

[AC2717]

I have March 30th at 3pm, think i am going to be over by a day or two, or three

[Bear Island South]

Originally Posted by AC2717

I have March 30th at 3pm, think i am going to be over by a day or two, or three

I like your thinking...my guess is the 28th.
I am going for two in a row, I had the day right last year but was 6 hours off.

[Mink Islander]

The Lakeport lake temperature today is 39 degrees! (insert Snoopy Dance here). Ice out is definitely accelerating. Going to be a new record, for sure. I picked March 20th and that may be a late guess.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Those are great drives. The "floppy vane" impeller design change when they went to gen 2 was brilliant. I know some people hate changing the impeller in the drive, but it's a lot easier than changing the impeller on my engine in my Bravo 3 equipped boat. That Bravo pump is in an awful place to access and the impeller is only good for 2 seasons max. The only plus is that I don't have an oily mess to deal with when I change it.

Gonna move this discussion over to the boat maintenance part of the forum, great stuff to talk about, just don't want to pollute the ice out thread.

Speaking of, for the first time this morning I noticed that good old "spring smell" in the air. Don't exactly know how to describe it other than that.

Only thing better than that is fresh cut grass smell ;-)

Bring it on!

[riverat]

Gunstock Acres Cam
http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/erikas/2/show.html

[Merrymeeting]

Much to my amazement, there are a few ice fishermen walking on Merrymeeting today. Thankfully they seem to be staying near shore as there are a few large open areas on the lake and the ice looks awful fragile to me. I don't plan to test it.

[Merrymeeting]

The ice is starting to look dark on many of the webcams, the Minge Cove time lapse shows lots of ice pack movement, Ossipee webcam area has opened substantially in the last 24 hours, Shaw's Pond on King's Highway went from being totally locked in to totally open in the past 48 hours, Alton Bay open past the band stand.

Won't be long now. A little wind will do it.

[Lakegeezer]

The traditional leading indicator for ice-out in my area has started to show, meaning we would normally be 2-3 weeks till ice-out. However, there are already ribbons of open water in Moultonborough Bay, so I think it will happen earlier, especially given the sunny 70's in the forecast for the week and the grey color of the ice. I'd like to pull the boat into the garage to prep it for an early spring launch, but the driveway is still soup. Update: Sunday AM, the temps were below freezing, so I dragged the boat out of its winter pile of snow and into the garage, with minimal tracks in the gravel driveway.

[LadyJane]

My guess was March 24. Looks like that won't be far off.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

WeirsCam


Click here for a Lakes Region Aerial Photography panorama of the lake taken yesterday by Flyguy


Here is another flyguy shot of The Broads yesterday from Lakes Region Aerial Photography


Lake Winnipesaukee Weather Cam at Black Cat Island

Water Temperature at 2 ft: 40.1 °F

Water Temperature at 10 ft: 41.1 °F


Minge Cove Webcam

[codeman671]

I just got off a cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale after a week. It's hard to believe that it's in the 70's at home and only 80 here. Can't wait to be home tomorrow. Already told Winnisquam to have my boat ready this week.

At $0.55 per minute for satellite Internet on the ship I probably spent $20 in the
last week checking out the webcams at home.

[Island Girl]

Pine Island Guy was at his dock earlier today... Turned the south webcam back on. P.I.G., is the other cam on?

IG

[Island Girl]

Here is the MODIS from earlier today.... a tad enhanced for easier viewing.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

It is good to see your cam back up! Been missing it. Lucky you getting an early island trip!!!


Pine Island South

[Pine Island Guy]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

Pine Island Guy was at his dock earlier today... Turned the south webcam back on. P.I.G., is the other cam on?IG

With the incredible weather we got the itch to drive up and see how far we could get... We got the Alumacraft in the water and headed out through the ice, and made it around to the dock by hugging the shoreline...

Got the south camera up, but the east camera is still sick

What a beautiful day to be on the lake!

ice ice go away -PIG

[DRH]

Yesterday's sun and unseasonably warm temperature did a real job on the ice. Here's an image captured by the Minge Cove Webcam at 8:17 AM this morning:

[CrownRay]

No way that ice survives the end of the week. Temps in the 80's forecasted! Wachusett Mountain is mostly brown now, almost no snow.

SeaRay goes in the harbor in 13 days!

[JMR]

Neighbor went from Ames Farm to the Broads side of Rattlesnake yesterday afternoon in his boat. He took some pics and hopes to post them today. We visited Rattlesnake Landing and it is still iced in with about 4 inches of ice.
Saw a boat moving at a decent clip through the cracks in the ice in Alton Bay about 3pm on way around the tip o' the bay.

Planning on being on island this weekend! Going to make week drag along.

[mhtimber]

Originally Posted by JMR

Neighbor went from Ames Farm to the Broads side of Rattlesnake yesterday afternoon in his boat. He took some pics and hopes to post them today. We visited Rattlesnake Landing and it is still iced in with about 4 inches of ice.
Saw a boat moving at a decent clip through the cracks in the ice in Alton Bay about 3pm on way around the tip o' the bay.

Planning on being on island this weekend! Going to make week drag along.

That was my cousin, Capt. Icebreaker, he took me for an ice-out excursion after he and a friend physically broke their way out using poles to break up the ice ahead and push large chunks away from the engine. The ice was basically slush, very 'shardy,'

To borrow a line from TV it was 'Ice Road Boating.'

It was one of the more amazing boating experiences I've ever had.

Thank you Capt Icebreaker.

[JMR]

Great shots. Did you get around Alligator Point?

[mhtimber]

Originally Posted by JMR

Great shots. Did you get around Alligator Point?

Couldn't get that far yesterday but likely I'm going to try again on Wed. or Thurs.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

With the ice disappearing so quickly I guess I better get around to replacing the impeller in my stern drive. I know what I'll be doing on Saturday.

You might be boating!!!

Dan

[Steveo]

Originally Posted by crowsnest

I Have March 23 @ 9am , its not looking to bad

Not a chance, it will never make it to the 23rd

[crowsnest]

Originally Posted by Steveo

Not a chance, it will never make it to the 23rd

sorry had to do it

[pontoonbarge]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone seen if the RIA Ramp still has ice at the bottom or not?

If the wind is low enough we'll be on Rattlesnake tonight.

Thanks

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Is Sebago really free of ice?

Sebago is a very deep lake and there are winters when it does not freeze. This was one of those winters. It is not that unusual.

R2B

[Merrymeeting]

If the readings are to be believed, the 2 foot water temperature measurement on the WeatherCam page has shot up several degrees today, and it showing about the same temperature as the 10 foot probe (~39 degrees). The 10' probe was also registering over 40 this morning. So it appears that we're reaching the point where the colder and warmer layers are mixing to create a uniform temp from top to bottom, which happens for a short period in the Spring.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

If the readings are to be believed, the 2 foot water temperature measurement on the WeatherCam page has shot up several degrees today, and it showing about the same temperature as the 10 foot probe (~39 degrees). The 10' probe was also registering over 40 this morning. So it appears that we're reaching the point where the colder and warmer layers are mixing to create a uniform temp from top to bottom, which happens for a short period in the Spring.

This all has to do with the density of water. Pure water is most dense at 39.2 degrees F. When the water well below the surface goes over 39.2 degrees, it floats to the top slowly displacing the cooler water close to the surface. People call it flipping. Once the lake flips, the ice melts very fast from the bottom up. CLAs two probes, on his Black Cat weather site, clearly are showing this process yesterday and today.

I am now thinking this weekend will be ice-out, but I have been wrong before.

R2B

[trfour]

R2B; I am now thinking this weekend will be ice-out, but I have been wrong before.

My eyesight is not as good as it once was, however, watching from Texas there is still lots of ice out there! If your prediction should turn out to be true, we'll send you some longhorn bucks from here!

Terry
_____________________________

[Merrymeeting]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

This all has to do with the density of water. Pure water is most dense at 39.2 degrees F. When the water well below the surface goes over 39.2 degrees, it floats to the top slowly displacing the cooler water close to the surface. People call it flipping. Once the lake flips, the ice melts very fast from the bottom up. CLAs two probes, on his Black Cat weather site, clearly are showing this process yesterday and today.

I am now thinking this weekend will be ice-out, but I have been wrong before.

R2B

Thanks R2B.

While a bit detailed, a good description of lake flip, or turn over, can be found here.

http://www.waterontheweb.org/under/l...ification.html

In both cases, the phenomenon is very helpful to the ecology of the lake, bringing necessary nutrients up from the bottom of the lake, and mixing the oxygen levels.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

Sebago is a very deep lake and there are winters when it does not freeze. This was one of those winters. It is not that unusual.

R2B

Absolutely Correct!!

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

Sebago is a very deep lake and there are winters when it does not freeze. This was one of those winters. It is not that unusual.

R2B

I never go near it in the Winter, so I never noticed. Huh, thanks.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Dave R

Is Sebago really free of ice?

Sebago never froze this year and it doesn't freeze completely 3 out of every 10 years. Some of my friends think we have hot springs somewhere. The real issue is depth of the water(300+ feet in places) and wind.

BT

[pam.in.ny]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Today's MODIS pic show the large opening near Rattlesnake very clearly.
The predicted temps of 60+ this week and much above normal 70s for the following week should make for ideal melting......

Is the lake in the center of the photo, where it is mostly white and then a dark spot in the lower left of the white area?

I love these photos. Thank you for posting them.

[Island Girl]

Here is the link. I will have the link on my ice out page later tonight at www.rattlesnakecam.com/iceout.htm

http://nhboat.com/Nhboat/Features/ice/ice-out2012.htm.. Thanks to Barry for doing this every year!

IG

[GsChinadoll]

Originally Posted by pam.in.ny

Is the lake in the center of the photo, where it is mostly white and then a dark spot in the lower left of the white area?

I love these photos. Thank you for posting them.

Yup, that's the lake!

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by pam.in.ny

Is the lake in the center of the photo, where it is mostly white and then a dark spot in the lower left of the white area?

I love these photos. Thank you for posting them.

Yes. The dark spot is open water near Rattlesnake Island.