the end of the first week of the January, 

 about two weeks later than normal and 

 somewhat later than predicted in the pre- 

 season sea-ice forecast. By mid month, it 

 progressed southward across the strait to 

 Cape Bauld, the northernmost point of the 

 island of Newfoundland. 



On 22-23 January an intense low 

 pressure system (Figure 2) passed across 

 Newfoundland bringing hurricane force 

 winds (Figure 3) to offshore waters early on 

 the 23 rd . The very strong northwest winds 

 had a dramatic effect on the sea-ice along 

 the southern Labrador coast and in the Strait 

 of Belle Isle (Figure 4). In some places the 

 ice edge expanded 40 nm eastward in little 

 more than 24 hours. The increasing ice 

 concentrations at the entrances to the Strait 

 of Belle Isle prompted the Canadian Coast 

 Guard to recommend that, effective January 

 31, 2006, the strait not be used by 

 transatlantic shipping. 



Despite the storm-driven expansion 

 of the sea-ice edge, at month's end the 

 distribution of sea-ice in east Newfoundland 

 waters was far less extensive than normal. 

 The southern edge of the main ice pack was 

 about 20 nm north of Cape St. John, while in 

 a normal year it would reach Cape Freels, 

 over 80 nm southeastward. The eastward 

 extent of the ice edge was also well below 

 normal. At St. Anthony, the eastern ice edge 

 was approximately 40 nm offshore, while in 

 a normal year it would be about 130 nm. 



Under CIS sponsorship, Provincial 

 Aerospace Ltd. (PAL) conducted two 

 iceberg reconnaissance flights on 13 and 14 

 January. They were flown in good visibility 

 along the Labrador coast south of 59°30'N. 

 No icebergs were located over the entire 

 area. In addition, according to the observers, 

 the sea-ice conditions south of 57°N were 

 well below what would normally be 

 expected for the time of year. Based on the 

 results of these two flights, Pip Rudkin 

 (PAL) predicted that: "As a result of this 

 survey we confirm a forecast for light 

 iceberg distributions on the Grand Banks 



this coming season. We would expect that 

 only the isolated berg may make the Grand 

 Banks and there is a strong possibility of an 

 iceberg free season." 



On 26 January 2006, Ice Patrol 

 deployed its preseason Ice Reconnaissance 

 Detachment (IRD) to St. John's, 

 Newfoundland. The intent of the IRD was to 

 monitor the progress of icebergs toward the 

 Grand Banks and help determine the start 

 date for the 2006 season. 



February 



Warmer-than-normal conditions in 

 Newfoundland and Labrador continued into 

 February, although many places saw the 

 mean temperatures move closer to typical 

 conditions. The average daily temperature 

 was about a degree warmer than normal in 

 southern Labrador, while St. John's was 

 1.5°C warmer than normal. The exception to 

 this trend toward typical temperatures was 

 Nain, where the daily average temperature 

 for the month was 4.3°C higher than normal. 



During the first half of February most 

 of the ice-edge expansion was eastward 

 rather than southward. By mid-month the 

 eastern ice edge lay 70 nm east of St. 

 Anthony, still a fraction of the normal 200 

 nm eastward extent for the date. 



The southern ice edge pushed 

 southward during the second half of 

 February, approaching to within ten nautical 

 miles of Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland by 

 month's end. The eastern ice edge continued 

 to expand as well, reaching between 100 and 

 120 nm east of St. Anthony's by the end of 

 February. 



In February there were no icebergs 

 near the transatlantic shipping lanes. On 3-4 

 February, HP's pre-season IRD searched the 

 sea-ice free offshore branch of the Labrador 

 Current from 48°N northward to 55°N. They 

 found no icebergs. Later in the month, PAL 

 documented a substantial iceberg population 

 but it was within the sea-ice north of 55°N. 



14 



