COLD SNAP PROMPTS NATIONAL ICE CENTER TO ISSUE ICE ANALYSES
FOR CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE BAYS

A recent spell of cold temperatures in the northeastern United States, including the Washington, D.C., area, led the National Ice Center (NIC) to issue the first ice analyses of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays since the winter of 2000, the center announced.

The National Ice Center has reported significant ice growth in the upper portion of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, as well as in the Potomac River and C & D Canal. The Ice Center issued the first ice charts of the season and posted them on the Internet, then contacted the United States Coast Guard in Philadelphia and Baltimore with this information.

Responding to a request from the Coast Guard, the Ice Center’s Reconnaissance Team conducted ice reconnaissance missions of the Chesapeake Bay. Aerographer’s Mates First Class Paul McKenna and Odis Fields flew with the Coast Guard Air Auxiliary from Lee Airport, Annapolis, and collected valuable ice analysis data. The data were incorporated into updated ice charts of the Chesapeake Bay and transmitted to the Coast Guard in Baltimore.

All NIC regional ice analyses are derived from near real-time integration of remotely sensed and in-situ observations. The data sources include: satellite-derived data, aerial ice reconnaissance, ship/shore stations observations, drifting buoy reports, meteorological guidance products, ice prediction model output, climatology and sea ice information obtained from international partners such as foreign ice services.

The National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational center represented by the United States Navy (Department of Defense); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce); and the United States Coast Guard (Department of Transportation). The NIC mission is to provide worldwide operational ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government agencies, and the private sector.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources

On the Web:

National Ice Center Release: http://www.natice.noaa.gov/press_release.htm

Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Ice Analysis: http://www.natice.noaa.gov/greatlakes.htm

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov