no bergs crossing 48° N. By 7 May, with the exception of the North- 

 east Ann and Belle Isle Strait, the gulf was ice free. The Ice Infor- 

 mation Officer of the Department of Transport, Sydney, Nova Scotia, 

 terminated ice operations in the gulf for the year on 11 May. By 18 

 May, Belle Isle Strait was navigable and it was ice free, by the 23d, 

 or about 1 month ahead of schedule. 



JUNE 



A flight on the 2d indicated only 4 bergs south of 51° N., with all 

 four aground on the east coast of Newfoundland. Only one berg 

 remained south of 48° N. This small berg aground near Cape Broyle 

 is estimated to have deteriorated by 4 June. Only one other berg 

 was to drift south of 48° N., for the remainder of the year. Three 

 small bergs had drifted about 90 miles southeast of Belle Isle, and 

 there were 13 bergs along the 1,000-fathom curve between 51°-52° N. 

 However, deterioration, especially in the warmer eastern waters had 

 been very heavy. Only two of the bergs sighted on the 2d were large 

 enough and in position to reach track E and only an additional 

 handful were considered capable of reaching track F. 



The weather pattern abruptly changed in early June with a system 

 of stationary lows east of Newfoundland being fed cold air from a 

 tremendous stationarj^ high over the Canadian Northwest Territory. 

 This accelerated the southerly drift of the many scattered bergs 

 between Belle Isle and 50° W. A flight on the 13th demonstrated 

 the effect of the average northerly winds over the southern ice limits 

 during the past 2 weeks. There were two distinct berg groupings; 

 one of 18 bergs, mostly smaller sized, centered near 50°20' N., 50° W., 

 and the other of 22 bergs, mostly medimn, near 50°35' N., 53°50' W. 

 These bergs had drifted an average of 10 miles per day since 2 June. 

 The southernmost offshore berg was a medium drydock berg at 

 49°35' N., 49°10' W. There was a very large tabular berg in the 

 second gfoup, estunated to be 1,200 feet long and 50 feet high. See 

 figure 13 for ice conditions on 13 June. 



For the next few days the winds were variable over the southeast 

 berg limits and averaged north-northeasterly near Notre Dame Bay. 

 As a result a flight on the 19th indicated that the current had domi- 

 nated the drift of the first group, while the second group was mostly 

 driven aground into Notre Dame Bay, where deterioration was rapid 

 in the warmed coastal waters. Four niedium -sized bergs near 49° N., 

 49° W., remained a minor threat to the northern Grand Banks. Two 

 of these bergs were last sighted in early July about 20 miles and 100 

 miles eastward, respectively. One berg apparently drifted southward 

 in the Labrador Current unseen for 30 days until reported by the 

 SS Evie on 19 July as a growler at 43°18' N., 46°02' W., in 72° F. water. 

 It is difficult to lend credence to this report as the southernmost berg 

 sighted on 19 June at 48°35' N., 49°12' W., was medimn sized and 



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