Lake/Ice Conditions - Island Grove Area, January 5, 2017

[Vampire With Freckles]

Hi Folks:

OK - starting to get the itch to be out on the ice. I recall in the recent past being out on the ice the first week of January. So I finally decided to take a drive and check out the lake this afternoon so I could make an informed decision regarding being out on the lake.

I will be adding several pictures attached to this post to clearly show the conditions I observed in the Island Grove area at 4:30 p.m. today.

To summarize the conditions I encountered - there was fast flowing water with areas in the middle of the channel flowing in a W by SW direction. There was a slight chop on the water with the occasional small white cap mixed in for good measure. There were also a lot of small ice bergs (from 18 inch diameter to many 4x4 foot pieces and a lot in between) floating/drifting from approximately 50 feet off shore.

My bottom line is as follows: the ice in the Island Grove area is not safe to be out on WHAT SO EVER and I would also caution the use of any type of boat in this area.

Picture 1 - I am standing on the public dock at the junction of Woodbine Ave. and Lake Drive looking out at the channel towards Georgina Island and Beaverton with the eastern most tip of Snake Island in the background. I would suggest you enlarge and/or zoom in on the photo to get a clear idea of the lake/ice conditions in this area.

[Vampire With Freckles]

Picture 2 - shows the floating/drifting ice bergs and the open water in the channel

[Vampire With Freckles]

Picture 3 - shows the floating icebergs and how much ice is floating below the surface

[Vampire With Freckles]

Picture 4 - zoom in on this picture and see what the channel looks like from a far

[Vampire With Freckles]

Picture 5 - this is the last picture and it clearly illustrates the lake is unsafe to be out on at this time of year.

Hope the pictures help out Board members. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but its not safe to be out on the lake for the time being in my opinion.

I would suggest people wait for a week or so longer - I am certain the cold weather will arrive in the near future and the lake will freeze sooner (hopefully) than later.

That's all for now, Nancy

[ThorahGuy]

Thanks Nancy, very helpful.

[Dee004]

Thanks for the report and pics.

[thor]

Thank you very much for the detailed report. Very informative!

[goodsgene]

Great report. Thank you so much!

[nocod]

Thanks for posting

[Sal-eye]

Thanks for posting.

[Longshank]

It's ready to go, no wind would help for sure.

Even then it will be bumpy there for some time.


I will wait..thanks Nancy