This year's ice
As of now, these winds continue to keep open water in areas where it has not as yet frozen over. I expected the winds to be low to calm tonight and tomorrow night, but it now looks like they will stay up for the entire week ahead. In addition, we will warm up mid-week and get a rainy period.
For now, it looks to me like where there is open water, the likelihood of it freezing thick enough that it is safe at all this winter looks very low. There is some great ice in places, but even those areas have some variation in thickness, so be careful. If you are out on your sled at night, be completely aware of where the open water is and stay clear of these areas.
The February sun is much stronger what we have in December and most of January. It is also up longer and is higher each day. This makes it hard to keep a skim coat of ice where it forms overnight. That and the persistent winds make me think we will only have what we now have for ice this year.
Be safe!
R2B
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