April 



Both Labrador and east 

 Newfoundland waters experienced strong 

 northeast and north-northeast winds and 

 above-normal air temperatures in April. 

 The thickness and areal extent of the sea 

 ice were less than normal in both areas. 

 The SST on the northeast Newfoundland 

 shelf was near normal but, as in March, the 

 ocean surface south of 45°N was 1°C to 

 2°C warmer than normal (Figure 14). 

 Throughout the month, the sea ice 

 continued its rapid retreat, and by month's 

 end was limited to the inner portions of 

 White Bay and Notre Dame Bay and along 

 the coast of the northern part of 



In the beginning of the month there 

 were numerous icebergs within the sea ice 

 along the southern Labrador coast and 

 east of the Strait of Belle Isle. By mid- 

 month some of these icebergs had entered 

 the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the Strait of 

 Belle Isle due, in part, to the vigorous and 

 persistent northeast winds that 



dominated the entire area. Many others 

 moved southward along the northern 

 peninsula of Newfoundland, still mostly 

 within the sea ice. By month's end, aerial 

 reconnaissance observed large numbers of 

 icebergs within and near the sea ice edge 

 along Newfoundland's northeast coast 

 between Funk Island and Cape Bauld. 

 Also, there were numerous icebergs in the 



60%V SPfVI 5e%V 54*W 52^V SAV AffVI 4t:%V 44%V 42^V 40^V 



Longitude 



Figure 14. Monthly mean IGOSS sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly for April 1999. 

 SSTs are in "-"C and are blended from ship, buoy, and bias-corrected satellite data. 



Newfoundland's northern peninsula. The Strait of Belle Isle and in the northeast arm 

 overall areal extent of sea ice in southern of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as far east as 

 Labrador and east Newfoundland waters Heath Point, the eastern-most point of 

 was less than normal. Anticosti Island. Despite the large number 



of icebergs moving southward along the 



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