Ice Depth at Joe's Pond

 As promised, my friend got back to me with a report on the ice depth. He said he measured 24 in. of "soft, punky" ice - meaning it is the white stuff I described earlier that is formed when snow mixes with the water and freezes. Blue ice is more dense and stronger, and is formed when the water freezes - no snow involved. 

Blue ice is twice as strong as white ice. That said, our temperature today is back in the freezing range, depending on where you are. I'm showing 34 degrees here, but it may be a bit colder down on the pond. We have lost a lot of our snow cover these past several warm days, and had some rain off and on yesterday. My little backyard pond is showing some water on top of the snow covering the ice - and very little bare ground anywhere except along the roadsides and warm spots like stone walls and wind-swept knolls where there are ledges. The snow is pulling away from tree bases and from the foundation of my house - so there is a lot of warming and melting going on.

I went to Berlin for my eye shots yesterday and the Winooski had some ice jams along the stretch before Montpelier, but near the intersection with the Stevens Branch, it was clear. That is good news as in the past ice jams have caused serious flooding in Montpelier. The cold period expected this weekend will be a good thing and will slow down the melting a bit so river levels can settle, hopefully preventing flooding.

Have a good day, stay warm and safe.