January 2003 



During a normal January, the sea 

 ice edge moves southward from Cape 

 Bauld, near the entrance to the Strait of 

 Belle Isle, to Cape Freels. a distance of 

 150 NM. January 2003 was far from 

 normal. 



The southern ice edge moved into 

 the Strait of Belle Isle during the first week 

 of January as predicted by Canadian Ice 

 Service (2002). Throughout the first half of 

 the month, northern Newfoundland and the 

 southern Labrador coast experienced 

 higher than normal air temperatures, while 

 southern Newfoundland was close to 

 normal. By mid month, the ice edge 

 reached southward to about 20 NM south 

 of St. Anthony and eastward approximately 

 50 NM east of the Northern Arm of 

 Newfoundland. Both the southern and 

 eastern extent were about a week to 10 

 days behind normal in their development. 



After mid-month, the southern ice 

 edge progressed slowly, but persistently, 

 southward along the Northern Arm, but 

 extending only about 60 NM offshore. At 

 the same time, a large, blocking high- 

 pressure system was settling into the 

 central north Atlantic. Its presence altered 

 the north Atlantic storm track, setting the 

 stage for the passage of a series of intense 

 low-pressure systems over Newfoundland. 

 During the third week of January, three 

 blizzards dropped nearly a meter of snow 

 on St. John's. In all, January 2003 tied 

 1960 as the snowiest January on St. 

 John's record. The storms brought strong 

 southerly winds to northeast Newfoundland 

 waters, resulting in widespread ice 

 destruction and much warmer than normal 

 air temperatures, a combination that 

 precipitated a rapid retreat of the southern 

 ice edge. January ended with the southern 

 sea ice edge barely extending into the 

 Strait of Belle Isle. In the last 35 years, 



only 1969 and 1979 have had a lower ice 

 extent at the end of January than that of 

 2003 (Canadian Ice Service, 2003). 



IIP deployed its pre-season Ice 

 Reconnaissance Detachment (IRD) to 

 Newfoundland on 23 January. The intent 

 of the IRD was to monitor the progress of 

 the icebergs toward the Grand Banks and 

 help determine the start date for the 2003 

 season. A single reconnaissance flight 

 over the sea ice free waters of the offshore 

 branch of the Labrador Current between 

 49°N and 52°N found no icebergs. During 

 January, no icebergs passed south of 

 48°N; the average for the month is 3. On 

 13 January 2003, the Canadian Coast 

 Guard advised mariners that the Strait of 

 Belle Isle was not recommended for 

 transatlantic shipping due to sea ice 

 conditions. 



February 



February was a month of dramatic 

 change for both the air temperatures in 

 Newfoundland and the sea ice extent in the 

 waters east of the island. The first ten 

 days were much warmer than normal in 

 northern Newfoundland and southern 

 Labrador. The change began early in the 

 second week of February, when the 

 blocking high in the central north Atlantic 

 moved southward and the Icelandic low 

 strengthened. This brought cold arctic air 

 to Newfoundland and southern Labrador, a 

 condition that would persist for the next six 

 weeks. Colder to much colder than normal 

 conditions supported a rapid expansion of 

 the sea ice extent. Near mid-month, the 

 southern ice edge reached Cape 

 Bonavista, about a week later than 

 predicted (Canadian Ice Service, 2002). 

 During the first 19 days of February, the 

 southern ice extent moved from the vicinity 

 of the Strait of Belle Isle to Cape St. 

 Francis, the northern tip of the Avalon 

 Peninsula, a distance of 240 NM in the 



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