Ice Boom & Ice on Lake Erie
To our friend Junius (and other interested parties):
Lake Erie is oriented from SW to NE, which parallels our most common wind direction. Because the lake narrows at the eastern end, into the Niagara River, those SW winds always jammed ice into the NE tip of the lake long before an ice boom was even contemplated. In fact, the "last day of ice" in the harbor has actually dropped one day back since the advent of the boom. That's not a significant change but, on the other hand, there is no evidence the ice boom lengthens the stay of ice at our end of the lake.
Lake Erie is oriented from SW to NE, which parallels our most common wind direction. Because the lake narrows at the eastern end, into the Niagara River, those SW winds always jammed ice into the NE tip of the lake long before an ice boom was even contemplated. In fact, the "last day of ice" in the harbor has actually dropped one day back since the advent of the boom. That's not a significant change but, on the other hand, there is no evidence the ice boom lengthens the stay of ice at our end of the lake.
posted by Don Paul at
11:04 PM
4 Comments:
Thanks for the easy to understand response! I always wondered why and now I have a better understanding. Thanks for the great job you folks do with the weather forecasting and keeping us informed.
Junius Ponds
I guess I am just one of the "doubting" Buffalonians who just can't buy into the fact that the ice boom doesn't extend the colder temps here each spring. But I guess Don should know. By the way... how is that idea for the National Weather Museum coming along Don?
Peter
I understand why someone might feel intuitively that the ice boom affects the length of our winter. But the climate data has been studied exhaustively, including pre and post ice boom local temperatures, and how long it took for the last ice to exit the Buffalo harbor. There's simply no evidence of a measurable effect. As I said, the orientation of Lake Erie and its sharp narrowing at the NE end always produced pack ice in our vicinity long before there was a boom, and the recorded last day of harbor ice has actually come one day earlier since the boom has been in place.
On your second question, our project is, at this point, called the Buffalo Weather Discovery Center. Names matter, and the word Museum may imply a stagnant group of displays of the past. The Center will be a dramatic and fully interactive facility in a green and architecturally spectacular building. We feel strongly it must be placed somewhere on the waterfront, because Lake Erie is part and parcel of our weather, and must be part of the vista seen by visitors. We are "thinking big" all the way, and a feasibility study is already being set up. Of course, we hope to draw more attention from the Erie County Harbor Development Corporation as to how such a world-class facility can draw tremendous tourism as a centerpiece, which would then open up our historical and architectural gems to visitors who might not otherwise visit Buffalo. The public's interest in weather is nearly inexhaustible (witness all the weather documentaries on cable, and the nightly weather stories now on network newscasts). Done correctly, we can tap that interest in weather and climate change in a magnificent facility which will serve potentially millions of visitors who currently stop at "The Falls." We also want to serve our own community, of course. That's our hope. We have an active steering committee, and have made great early progress with strong political support. Needless to say, it's still a long road ahead.
I think this blog will prove to be interesting. Here you can talk as much as you want about the North Atlantic Ocillation. I look forward to the Buffalo Weather Discovery Center.
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