“I’m certain Al Gore and friends will have a good explanation why a ferry over 1000 miles south of the ice-less Arctic Circle is stuck in ice.” – John B.
After the Louis S. St-Laurent cleared a path through the ice, the Marine Atlantic passenger ferry, the MV Highlanders, has been freed. The Louis S. St-Laurent is the largest icebreaker in the Canadian Coast Guard fleet.
The ferry, with 190 people aboard, became stuck in pack ice last night off Cape Breton, has now reached port in Newfoundland.
The MV Highlanders trapped in sea ice on 17 March 2015. Photo courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada
While sea ice in this area is not unusual at this time of year, the extent and thickness of the ice is noteworthy.
Last winter the ice moved into the area in late March and early April. said Darrell Mercer of Marine Atlantic. “This winter is much more challenging than past winters.”
“This year, it (the ice) moved in early to mid-February, and it doesn’t show any signs of going away any time soon,” he said. “I’ve heard the Canadian Coast Guard say it’s the worst of the 30-year averages they’ve been keeping.”
The ice is visible from space, with a NASA satellite showing a solid ice cover surrounding portions of the Canadian Maritimes. While sea ice is not unusual in this region for this time of the year, the extent and thickness of the ice is noteworthy.
The ice was formed in part from a series of winter storms that have relentlessly struck the Maritimes into March.
Last winter the ice moved into the area in late March and early April. said Darrell Mercer of Marine Atlantic.
“This year, it moved in early to mid-February, and it doesn’t show any signs of going away any time soon,” he said. “I’ve heard the Canadian Coast Guard say it’s the worst of the 30-year averages they’ve been keeping.”
http://mashable.com/2015/03/17/ferry-stuck-in-ice-off-nova-scotia/
As meteorologist Bob Henson reports for Weather Underground, the same storm that pushed Boston over the top to its snowiest winter on record this weekend dumped nearly two feet of snow in Charlottetown.
The city’s seasonal total snowfall this winter is 182 inches, or about 15 feet, which is about twice that seen in Boston. The city’s previous record, Henson writes, was 177.7 inches, set just last year.
St. John in New Brunswick saw 170 inches of snow pile up so far this winter, beating the all-time seasonal total of 167 inches set in 1962-63. More snow may still fall in these areas this week and into mid-March, as the cold and stormy weather pattern across the East continues.
http://mashable.com/2015/03/17/ferry-stuck-in-ice-off-nova-scotia/
Julie Spurrell took this video.
To add insult to injury, the area has also seen record snowfall this winter.
St. John in New Brunswick has seen 170 inches of snow so far this winter, beating the previous record of 167 inches set in 1962-63. It has also been the snowiest winter on record for Prince Edward Island.
And there’s more snow on the way.
http://mashable.com/2015/03/17/ferry-stuck-in-ice-off-nova-scotia/
Thanks to George Martinez for this link
http://iceagenow.info/2015/03/brunswick-endures-record-setting-winter-snowfall/
http://iceagenow.info/2015/03/snowiest-winter-record-prince-edward-island/