River ice begins to thaw

Posted 8/21/12

REGION — As the region begins to gradually warm, the ice in the Upper Delaware River is slowly melting and evaporating. This giant peace sign, which someone created in the Big Eddy, is fading …

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River ice begins to thaw

Posted

REGION — As the region begins to gradually warm, the ice in the Upper Delaware River is slowly melting and evaporating. This giant peace sign, which someone created in the Big Eddy, is fading quickly now.

Officials at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area put out a press release on March 13 saying they were keeping an eye on the river ice. Park superintendent John J. Donahue said, “There is a considerable amount of ice covering the river from the Delaware Water Gap and extending for more than 100 miles northward to the river’s headwaters in Hancock, NY, much of it is anywhere from 18 inches to 3 feet thick.”

There was a possibility that rain over the weekend of March 14 might be sufficient to bring up the level of the river, breaking up the ice, which could result in ice jams and flooding. But not much ice was broken up and flooding did not happen. The short-term forecast calls for some precipitation, but probably not enough rain to rapidly break up the ice, and gradually warming temperatures will continue to melt it.

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