Georgian Bay icing over early could affect winter weather

CTV Barrie: Rare freeze of Georgian Bay Part of Georgian Bay has frozen over the first time in recent years. As Roger Klein reports, that's going to affect weather going forward.

Southern Georgian Bay has now frozen over, and that’s something that hasn’t happened this early in recent years. It’s going to have an effect on the weather right into summer.

A tug boat tied up in Meaford Harbour is locked in place by waves of snow and ice. The harbour is completely frozen and the ice extends into the bay as far as the eye can see.

David Richardson's family has been building boats on Georgian Bay since 1908 and he’s watched over the bay all of his life.  Richardson says the ice is early this year.

“Certainly more snow and ice cover than we have seen in many years,” says Richardson, “especially at this time of the year. If the bay mostly freezes over it's usually later than this substantially.”

The ice is spreading quickly across the Great Lakes. After weeks of below-normal temperatures ice now covers almost 80 per cent of the surface of the Great Lakes.

There is little open water left in Collingwood Harbour. John Galletta stops by every week to feed the ducks, and has watched the ice fill in.

“She's frozen over, over the past three weeks it was open, but she’s frozen over now,” he says.

According Environment Canada's historical data there is more ice now than we’ve seen on the lakes since 1996. But it's not all bad news because the ice reduces evaporation. The ice acts like a lid on a pot of steaming water; it shuts snow-squall activity and helps maintain water levels on Georgain Bay.

The ice also allows ice fishermen to venture farther out onto the lake. Local outfitter Rick Baldry says few people have experience with this kind of ice coverage here. He suggests fishermen stick to their traditional spots.

“Don't take anything for granted, the most important thing is don't take anything for granted you can have pressure cracks that are very dangerous,” he says.

In Meaford it looks like spring may never come, but when it does Richardson is looking forward to the benefits of the ice on the lake.

“The sooner the lake freezes the better the chance we will have high water,” he says. “There is a lot of snow in the watershed, so hopefully we are going to have high water this summer and the higher the water the more comfortable people are using their boats.”

Below-normal temperatures are expected to continue and some experts are saying that the Great Lakes could freeze over completely. The all-time record for ice coverage on the lakes is 94 per cent. That record was set in 1979.