During January and 

 February the Icelandic Low 

 was more intense than nor- 

 mal, and winds were west- 

 erly. The mean air tempera- 

 tures for Newfoundland and 

 Labrador were significantly 

 (up to 6.8°C) below normal, 

 and the freezing degree day 

 accumulations were up to 

 40%greaterthan normal. The 

 resulting sea ice extent was 

 much greater than normal to 

 the South and East (Figures 

 6 and 7) and was about one 

 month ahead of normal. 

 There were 20 new icebergs 

 south of 48N in February, and 

 the IIP Limits of All Known Ice 

 (LAKI) reached 43N (Figures 

 15 and 16). 



During March, the Ice- 

 landic Low was still lowerthan 

 normal, and the prevailing 

 windflow was from the north- 

 east. Although the monthly 

 mean temperature was 

 slightly above normal, the 

 freezing degree day accumu- 

 lations were much greater 

 than normal. SST charts for 

 March show that a tongue of 

 the cold (0°C) Labrador Cur- 

 rent extended south to 41 °N 

 during the month. This and 

 the northeasterly winds re- 

 sulted in a sea ice extent 

 greater than normal to the 

 south with less than normal 

 eastward extent (Figure 8). 

 There were 115 new bergs 

 south of 48°N. By the end of 



March the LAKI extended 

 below 41 N and to 39W (Fig- 

 ure 18). 



During April and May 

 mean temperatures were 

 again colderthan normal, and 

 winds were from a northerly 

 direction. The sea ice extent 

 was greater than normal to 

 the south and east (Figures 9 

 and 1 0) but began to retreat 

 slowly to the north. 138 and 

 283 new icebergs were south 

 of 48°N during April and May, 

 respectively. By April 15, the 

 LAKI covered a large portion 

 of the IIP operating area, ex- 

 tending beyond the eastern 

 border of the IIP area (Fig- 

 ure19). 



During June and 

 July mean temperatures were 

 still well below normal, and 

 mean windflow was from west 

 to northwest. The sea ice 

 extent was greater than nor- 

 mal, and the westeriy winds 

 kept the ice off the shore (Fig- 

 ures 1 1 and 1 2). Ice melt was 

 very slow, and thick and old 

 ice persisted along most of 

 the Labradorcoast during July 

 - the first time this has been 

 recorded. There were an in- 

 credible 1021 new bergs 

 south of 48°N in June, and 

 355 in July. Figures 23-26 

 show that the LAKI were ex- 

 tensive late in the season and 

 were still below 41 N at the 

 end of July. 



During August north- 

 westeriy winds prevailed, and 

 temperatures were near nor- 

 mal. During September, there 

 wasasoutheriy windflow, and 

 temperatures were about 2°C 

 above normal. The sea ice 

 receded out of the IIP area by 

 mid August. There were 75 

 new bergs south of 48°N in 

 August, and only 1 in Sep- 

 tember. The LAKI also 

 receeded, and the season 

 was closed on August 24. 



In summary, 1991 

 was an extreme ice year 

 based on the number of ice- 

 bergs (2008) south of 48°N. 

 1991 had the second highest 

 total on record. Lasting 183 

 days, it was also one of the 

 longest seasons. The greater 

 than normal sea ice condi- 

 tions throughout the season 

 protected icebergs from dete- 

 rioration longer, and when it 

 did finally recede icebergs 

 were released farther to the 

 south than normal. Sea sur- 

 face temperature (SST) charts 

 show that the cold (less than 

 6°C) Labrador Current water 

 extended south beyond the 

 tail of the Grand Banks to 

 about 42°N until August, which 

 was longerthan normal. This 

 southward extent of the colder 

 water occurred because a 

 southward meander in the 

 Gulf Stream existed belowthe 

 Grand Banks throughout the 



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