Ice inches across Grand Traverse Bay

By SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

January 30, 2009 12:00 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- An icy cover is creeping across Grand Traverse Bay and toward Power Island, a sure sign of a rugged northern Michigan winter.

Ice cover is substantial on both West and East Grand Traverse Bays, and a bay freeze is possible, an occurrence that hasn't cropped up for six years.

Continual cold weather since November helped form the ice that's expected to keep right on spreading.

"Generally, six or eight weeks of very cold temperatures allow the water temperature to drop and freeze; also calm, cold nights. We've had a number of those nights in January," said Jim Keysor, meteorologist with the National Weather Service station in Gaylord.

The bay last froze in 2003 and before that, 1996, records show.

This month is among the top 15 coldest Januaries on record for several locales in northern Michigan. That's in addition to colder-than-normal months of November and December, Keysor said.

"That's a great setup for ice to build up in the lakes," he said.

Good ice formation is recorded around Beaver Island north to the Straits of Mackinac and south into Grand Traverse Bay, Keysor said.

Ice on the big lake could help reduce the amount of lake-effect snow that's piled up in the region this winter. With ice cover, wind and cold temperatures won't be able to lift as much snow-producing moisture from the bays, he said.

Grand Traverse Baykeeper John Nelson said less evaporation in winter will pay off come spring.

"Ice on the water means higher lake levels in spring," Nelson said.

That brings benefits for fish spawning grounds, said Nelson and Tom Kelly, executive director at the Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay.

"Whitefish usually spawn in late autumn, about November. The eggs are laid on the bottom and they hang out there all winter and hatch in early spring," Kelly said. "If there's no ice cover, winter storms can cover the eggs with silt or otherwise disturb them."

Ice cover protects whitefish eggs from being damaged or killed, he said.

Big water ice also tempts anglers, and a few already have ventured onto West Bay.

Safety on the lake and bay is a concern, even if the ice eventually does stretch about six miles out to Power Island, said Lt. Chris Yane, a rescue pilot at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City.

"The enthusiasts who will go out on the ice first and foremost need to practice safety and keep in mind ice is dangerous," he said.

Ice anglers should leave word where they are going and how long they intend to stay on the ice, should dress warmly and bring a number of safety tools, Yane said.

Coast Guard officials constantly train for rescue missions, including those on ice, Yane said.

February should bring slightly warmer weather. Temperatures are forecasted to rise into the 20s and above freezing, Keysor said.

Today will bring about two or three inches of snow and temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees. Saturday will have a few flurries and a high around 30 degrees, while Sunday will be warmer, into the mid-30s under partly sunny skies, Keysor said.

Next week, temperatures will return to the 20s, but not much snow is expected until week's end, he said.

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