Warm during the day, and cold at night.
Combine that with hardly any precipitation in the forecast and the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority are happy with the outlook for the upcoming spring melt.
Steve Clark, water resource specialist for the SCRCA, told the Sydenham Current they could not ask for better conditions.
“Just the fact that we don’t see any significant amount of precipitation, it’s probably the most favourable conditions we could ask for. It’s perfect maple syrup type weather… warm days and cool nights,” he said.
Environment Canada is expecting daytime high temperatures to reach up to 9°C this week, with the average temperature hovering just over 6°C.
Clark said the SCRCA have been out on the Sydenham River and other watercourses across the region to check on the ice.
“Last week we were reviewing the thickness of the ice in the region, just to get a feel for what we might expect,” Clark said.
“We know temperatures are going to be gradually increasing over the course of the week. It’s good because we’ve got cooler temperatures at night, with the warmer temperatures in the day and no significant precipitation anticipated. What is going to happen, that solid ice that we have in place is gradually going to erode. We are losing some snow as well, it is starting the melt. That will contribute to some additional flow in the rivers.”
Clark added there is still significant ice on the rivers and there probably will still be be over the period of the next week.
“By the end of the week the ice is going to be a little compromised and it is going to be a little less secure,” he said.
“We’re going to keep an eye on things as the week goes on. We’re not seeing any significant changes in the amount of flow and certainly no issues around flooding at all.”
Clark said overall the ice this year was a “little thicker” than last year.
“We’re seeing anywhere from about 12 inches to 15 inches, mostly in the Wallaceburg area. It’s good solid ice too, it’s what we call blue ice. It’s fairly consistent and clear, which is a real benefit because it tends to erode and melt in a fairly consistent manner.
Clark added: “As far as the quality of the ice, we’re confident we’ll have a fairly consistent melting period, depending on the extent of the temperatures. Last week we still had fairly thick ice cover on most of the watercourses and certainly into the Wallaceburg area.”
For more information about the SCRCA, visit their website: http://www.scrca.on.ca/
