a growler was reported near C^ape St. Mar}-, thus indicating a westerly 

 drift. 



Following a last sighting of a small berg near Cape Race on 29 

 January, no further ice was reported south of latitude 48° N. until 

 April. It can be concluded that this rare January activity was asso- 

 ciated more closely with the ice season of 1959 rather than that of 1960. 



A warm winter with above average air temperatures in Newfound- 

 land, precluded the formation of local sea ice except in the bays and 

 straits of the northern coast. Patches and small fields of slush and 

 bav ice were reported occasionally within and near the Strait of Belle 

 Isle, but the Strait remained navigable throughout the month. 



The Gulf of St. Lawrence remained open during the month and 

 with the aid of the Canadian Department of Transport icebreaking and 

 ice forecasting service, shipping was maintained in the River St. 

 Lawrence as far as Quebec City tlu'oughout the month. Ice reached 

 its greatest extent duririg the second and third weeks of the month. 



FEBRUARY 



Except for one l)ei-g grounded at Cape Boriavista and scattered 

 bergs along the coast noi-th of latitude 51° X., no bergs were observed 

 in the Grand Banks or Newfoundland area during the month. A 

 berg was reported by SS Salacia on 19 February in 43°45' N., 48°00' 

 W., but an aircraft searching the area later in the day failed to find 

 any trace of the reported berg. Since the reported sighting was in 

 darkness at a range of over 6 miles and within an area of high density 

 shipping, the accuracy of the report is c{uestionable. 



Local sea ice and pack ice moving southward from the Labrador 

 coast early in the month, blocked the Strait of Belle Isle and the 

 reaches of bays and inlets of northern Newfoundland and persisted in 

 concentrations varying from seven to nine-tenths cover of the sea 

 surface. However, air temperatures averaging 8° to 15° above the 

 monlhly mean, favored the majority of Newfoundland ports with 

 ice-free conditions and no sea ice w^as observed over the Grand Banks 

 or Newfoundland waters south of latitude 50° N. Throughout the 

 month, the southern Ihnit of field ice approximated very closely a line 

 from Belle Isle to 53° N., 52° W. thence north-northwesterly. It 

 consisted primarily of local Labrador pack and was not of Arctic origin. 



The central Gulf of St. Lawrence continued ice-free during the 



month, but prevailing northeast winds concentrated heavy ice in the 



Prince Edward Island aufl ( 'haleur Bay areas. Icebreakers, however, 



were able to maintain some shipping to major ports in the Gulf and 



to Quebec Cit}'. 



MARCH 



T\\v first half of March saw only two icebergs south of Belle Isle, 

 but there were many bergs arriving at the Strait and scattered close 

 along the Labrador coast. These conditions were undoubtedly due 



