Monday, March 22, 2010

River Ice




The Red River is flowing again. It's an earlier spring than "usual", whatever that is. When it melts, the ice jams up along the bends and under bridges, and makes a gorgeous sound when it starts to move.  It was solid enough to skate on just a month ago.  I love the carnage of the breaking ice, and occasionally a tree, or a piece of someone's dock, or other debris gets caught.

The crest of the river is on its way north -- this river is odd in that it flows north, away from the melt.  It would be safer if it flowed south and the later melting season in the north would mean less flooding.  But a quirk of glacial re-arrangement means the Red flows north, and the melting waters from the south get caught up with ice that hasn't yet transformed into water.  The crest is expected in Winnipeg on April 6, but the expectation is that it won't be as high as other years, including 2009.

No comments:

Post a Comment