ridge of high pressure in the central North 

 Atlantic, which steered the tracks of the 

 storms leaving the U. S. coast in early April 

 to the Labrador coast. By mid-month, the 

 blocking high had weakened and, for the 

 remainder of April, the region experienced 

 light to moderate west winds and near 

 normal air temperatures. 



The persistent offshore winds in 

 early April created a vast near-shore lead 

 that extended southward from Hamilton 

 Inlet to the southern ice limit near Cape 

 Freels, Newfoundland. In some places the 

 lead was over 50 NM wide. Warmer than 

 normal air temperatures in the early part of 

 the month hastened the sea ice retreat 

 both along the Labrador Coast and in east 

 Newfoundland waters. By mid-month, ice 

 retreat was 3 to 4 weeks earlier than 

 normal in both areas. Although ice 

 destruction slowed somewhat during the 

 second half of the month, the retreat was 2 

 to 3 weeks ahead of normal at the end of 

 April. Aside from a few, isolated small 

 patches, there was no sea ice south of 

 51 °N. Thus, the icebergs that threatened 

 transatlantic shipping lanes no longer had 

 the protection sea ice cover affords. 



The mid-month distribution of 

 icebergs was at the 25"^ percentile for the 

 southern limit and about median for the 

 eastern limit. In April, 239 icebergs were 

 estimated to have drifted south of 48°N; 

 the average for the month is 120. 



May 



Early May was characterized by 

 light to moderate north winds and 1.5° to 

 2.5°C colder than normal mean air 

 temperatures in both Labrador and 

 Newfoundland. Both areas were 



dominated by light to moderate southwest 

 winds and near normal air temperatures 

 during the second half of the month. 



The sea ice retreat continued to be 

 well ahead of normal, by about 2 weeks, in 

 both Labrador and Newfoundland. By mid- 

 month, the only appreciable sea ice 

 concentration near Newfoundland was in 

 the Strait of Belle Isle and along the 

 northern arm of Newfoundland. Sea ice 

 destruction continued at a rapid rate, but it 

 lingered in the vicinity of the Strait of Belle 

 Isle until 26 May, when the Strait was 

 declared safe for marine traffic. By 31 May 

 the southern extent of the sea ice had 

 retreated to 55°N. 



The mid-May iceberg limit was at 

 the median for both the southern and 

 eastern limits. An estimated 212 icebergs 

 drifted south of 48°N in May, while the 

 average for the month is 147. In the 101- 

 year average. May is the busiest month of 

 the year for IIP in terms of number of 

 icebergs passing south of 48°N. In 2000, 

 the number, while higher than normal, 

 declined from the two previous months. 



On 24 May, the westernmost 

 sighted iceberg during the 2000 ice season 

 was seen by a Canadian reconnaissance 

 flight at 50°00'N and 56°40'W. The 

 westernmost drifted iceberg was at 

 49°58'N and 56°47'W on 29 May 2000. 



June 



Both the southern and eastern 

 iceberg limits were at the median in mid- 

 June. In June, 65 icebergs were estimated 

 to have drifted south of 48°N; the average 

 is 87. By month's end the southern limit 

 had retreated so that it was between the 

 median and the 75"^ percentile and the 

 eastern limit was near the median. 



The southernmost sighted and 

 drifted iceberg was seen by an IIP 

 reconnaissance flight on 8 June at 41°12'N 

 and 47°56'W. 



18 



