"Now I have seen the current muddy at break up but usually after prolonged warming and winds. This one is about a month ahead of the game."
Observation by Wilson Justin:
Plenty of snow cover, occasional open leads or off colored ice which means a refreeze. I did note one oddity in a open lead under the Chistochina River bridge. The lead is less then a hundred yards long. The water normally this time of the year is very clear showing the bottom of the channel as if there were no water columns at all.
I was out trying to glass Mt Sanford from the bridge in hopes of catching the first fractures in the ice mantle but had the wrong binoculars so I checked the open water. First observation, the current was more swift then I’m used to seeing at end of March, first of April. Second observation there was no bottom. The reason became clear after a good look down. The current was darkened from stirring the bottom.
Now I have seen the current muddy at break up but usually after prolonged warming and winds. This one is about a month ahead of the game. Will it continue or last? Irrelevant. It’s the timing and the speed that is telling. On another note, this is the first semi normal or 1970s spring I’ve seen with the exception of the intense snow pack. It was 8 degrees yesterday morning warming to 32. 18 this morning warming to 42 above by 3 pm. And the wind? Stirring but not steady. Angling over from the east side of the river. I’m not on the east side admittedly but I swear a good many time this March we had two winds. One over on the east side and one on our side or west side…makes one wonder what happens at the meeting zone?
Additional comment on 4-6-22:
Sorry, should have been more explicit. The first photo is looking up stream from the river. My observation was at the same place but the upstream side was covered with snow and ice, while the downstream side was open for a bit.
Comment by Aviva Braun from NOAA:
Thank you for sharing these observations with us and apologies for the delayed response. I will forward this email to our operational staff so they hear of these localized conditions as well. From what I've been told, is that a lot of what we are seeing is about a month ahead of schedule, with the exception of the snowpack as you stated. Do you have any thoughts about what this means once temperatures really start to warm? 4-7-22
