Stiff north or east winds often accompany these clear and cold stretches of weather. Fortunately, for the most part, where I live in the downtown area does not get hit by these winds. Gavan Hill, the Sisters and Verstovia seem to create a nice wind break. However, these winds do funnel through some passes and valleys at either end of the road.

Today I drove out to Starrigavan and stopped to take a picture of the view from the Harbor Point turnout. There are no mountains close enough to protect this area from the cold outflow winds, which was reflected in the white caps covering the surface of the water.

After increasingly unseasonal highs of 60F, it finally has started to cool off in the past couple of days. With yesterday afternoon’s dusting of snow and this morning’s frost, it seems like we’re finally headed into more fall-like conditions. Much of the ground did not seem to have frost on it, I imagine because there was enough heat still there to keep it from cooling off to that point. However, there was a nice display of frost patterns on the roof of the car. So much so, that I decided to take a moment to grab a photo before we headed out the road.

The big adventure of the day was a return to the landslide at Starrigavan. Despite Rowan’s protestations, we made it up to the upper side of the slide area, then walked up slide slope a bit along along the water course there. I’ll post more about the trip separately when I get a chance to process the photos.

On the return, I took a quick look at Sealing Cove to see if I could see any evidence of the sea star wasting disease that’s now shown up here (after devastating populations in other places along the west coast). While there, I also grabbed some shots of the brilliant white fresh snow against the deep blue sky. It seemed especially striking, I think in part because the air was quite clear.

This afternoon we spent an hour or so enjoying the sun at Magic Island. Originally the kids considered swimming, but after a little bit of wading, they thought better of it. All the sea temperatures have been warm (by which I mean in the mid-50s), there was a definite chill in the air today, and even ‘warm’ water doesn’t really seem too inviting without the warmer air. The sun still felt quite warm, but I noticed that if I had my legs up (as I was laying down) so part of them were shaded from direct sun (or its reflection off the water), the shaded parts would start to feel cold before long.

There were quite a few gulls and cormorants (mostly pelagic) just off of Magic Island when we arrived. They started dispersing shortly after. I had noticed a similar gathering near SeaMart within the past few days, as well. I assume there is some sort of food they’re finding, but I don’t know what it might be.

I also heard about a bunch of whale spouts in Eastern Channel from someone who has a restricted view (suggesting, they were all very concentrated together).

[Show slideshow]

With the recent period of cold weather, I thought it would be interesting to take a walk up Indian River trail to check out the ice situation. As I expected, there was very little ice up to the first first bridge, the West Fork was running clear, but the Falls Fork had a fair amount of ice development. We walked up as far as the second bridge and then more or less followed the river down toward the confluence while I looked for sections that caught my eye.

I brought along a set of neutral density filters (which I had not used previously) to make it easier to get long exposures of the flowing water. I was hoping this would emphasize the difference between non-moving ice and the water flowing over, around, and through it. I took quite a few photos, some of which I like (at least so far).

I didn’t get a picture of them, but we saw several dippers along the way, including one along the mostly iced-over section of river between the second bridge and the confluence. It would have been fun to get a picture or video of the one going in and out of the water from the ice, but I was set up for the long exposures, and it would have taken too long to change out lenses and camera settings, so I was content to just watch this time.

[Show slideshow]

Walking through Totem Park this morning, I noticed that Indian River is quite low. I guess I’ve not paid close enough attention to say if it’s as low as I have ever seen it (it’s not quite as eye catching as the high water events), but it must be close. I’m a little surprised there isn’t more ice with the cold nights and slow moving, low volume of water. I’ve noticed before that the amount of ice in the lower part of the river doesn’t necessarily correlate with the coldness of a coldsnap, but while prior weather seemed like a good explanation in that case, it’s less clear in this case. I suppose the relatively warm daytime temperatures (at or a bit of above freezing) may have been sufficient to keep the ice off the river.

While on the bridge in the park, it was fun to watch an American Dipper diving down into the crystal clear water as it foraged for food. There wasn’t really time to try to get video of it, but I was tempted.

I spent most of the time relaxing in the sun (though I did go with Rowan so she could show me the little cedar she found the last time we were all there) while Connor and Rowan ran around playing hide and seek or other exploration games. Unfortunately the wind started to come from out of the south a bit and that combined with temperatures in the 20s that made it a little less comfortable than it has been on other recent occasions. Thank goodness for windproof fleece.

Last week’s cold weather saw temperatures cold enough to freeze salt water, however little ice seemed to form in Crescent Bay. I am guessing there was sufficient wind to keep the surface stirred up and liquid (unlike previous occasions when temperatures were warmer, but conditions were calm, and the bay froze). However, when I arrived at the cove near the library, I was interested to see how much pancake ice had been stranded on the beach.

I don’t recall ever seeing pancake ice here before. If I have seen it before, it was much a much less robust version. These pancakes were as much as 3 feet wide and seemed to be an inch or two thick. My theory is the ice probably formed in the cove where conditions were a little calmer and salinity may have been a little lower. However, there was enough wave action to keep a solid sheet from forming (as often happens in bays around here during cold weather).

It would have been fun to spend a bit more time exploring the ice and looking for interesting photographic opportunities, but unfortunately I had to get to class and didn’t have time to linger.

More photos of Pancake Ice

On our walk to the park last Friday, I noticed that Indian River had essentially no ice in it. Given the extreme (for here) cold we had been feeling for the past several days, I was a bit surprised by this.

By comparison, last year after a few days of freezing temperatures that were not nearly as cold as this year’s, the river was nearly completely covered in ice at the park.

I heard from someone who hiked to Indian River Falls this week, and he said there was no ice on the river until after the first bridge – after which the river was almost entirely iced over. I have previously noticed this (at the time unexpected) ice distribution on Indian River and realized that the west fork of Indian River runs warmer and does not freeze. This is due to the fact that not far above the confluence, the entire flow of the river is underground in normal-low flow conditions.

My guess is the flow from the west fork this year is warmer than during the cold snap last year (it could also just be putting more volume out, taking that much longer to cool off to freezing, but the water levels didn’t seem that much higher to me). A plausible explanation might be the warmer and much wetter weather that occurred in December this year relative to last year. Perhaps this influx of relatively warm water takes a while to move through the ground, so the pulse of warmer water was still flowing even after a week or more of cooler weather.

A couple of questions come to mind that wouldn’t be that hard to collect data for: How do the west fork and the falls fork of Indian River compare in temperature over the course of the year. How fast does the river cool off moving down stream in cold conditions? The best way to answer the first question would be to place a couple of ibuttons in waterproof enclosures just up from the confluence along each fork of the river. (The trick would be getting them secure enough to avoid losing them in high water.) Probably the second question would be best looked at by actually measuring in several locations along the river during a cold snap.

Walking to class this afternoon I stopped and took pictures of ice in various configurations.

[Show slideshow]

Conditions at Swan Lake were a bit slushy on top of old ice before the temperature dropped. Several sets of bird tracks were then frozen in the ice.

Conditions at Swan Lake were a bit slushy on top of old ice before the temperature dropped. Several sets of bird tracks were then frozen in the ice.

Conditions at Swan Lake were a bit slushy on top of old ice before the temperature dropped. Several sets of bird tracks were then frozen in the ice.

Pancake ice accumulated in the cove and was stranded by the falling tide.

Pancake ice accumulated in the cove and was stranded by the falling tide.

Pancake ice accumulated in the cove and was stranded by the falling tide.

Pancake ice accumulated in the cove and was stranded by the falling tide.

I enjoyed looking through recent satellite photos this evening and included three with this post.

The first shows the situation as the high pressure was getting well established on Sunday. Clear skies over southeast and some clouds milling about offshore. In the second on, from Monday, the clouds are offshore and arrayed in distinct lines, which I believe is due to the strong winds blowing out. That pattern persisted into today, perhaps even growing stronger, as seen in the third photo.

Temperatures remained quite cold, but winds diminished significantly by later this afternoon. It was interesting to see all the polished ice intermixed with thin patches of wind sculpted snow. As windy as it got here over the last couple of days, it was much stronger elsewhere.

From today’s weather synopsis:

THE WEATHER PATTERN THAT CAUSED FREQUENT WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FROM JUNEAU TO SKAGWAY AND THE CENTRAL OUTER
COAST IS GRADUALLY WEAKENING. THE HIGHEST MEASURED WIND GUST WAS
150 MPH /130 KNOTS/ AT SHEEP MOUNTAIN SOUTH OF JUNEAU AT 3540
FEET ELEVATION. HIGHEST WIND GUST AT SEA LEVEL WAS 103 MPH /90
KNOTS/ AT CAPE SPENCER IN CROSS SOUND.

Forecast is for relative calm tomorrow and winds picking back up later in the week s a low approaches the coast of British Columbia. Fortunately, temperatures are also forecast to rise.

Pictures from today were taken as I walked across Swan Lake near sunset – hence the shift towards blue and lack of brightness (though I could have neutralized these things in processing, I found the contrast on the snow made it easier to see the texture and shapes if I left it as it was).

I didn’t notice too much unusual in the way of birds today, but one thing did stand out – there were three Great Blue Herons flying south over Swan Lake as I started across it. Perhaps they had all been roosting in trees around the lake and were headed to the beach for low tide. There certainly wasn’t any open water for them to fish around the lake.

[Show slideshow]

Wind blowing snow across Swan Lake caused sculpted drifts where something was able to capture snow.

Much of Swan Lake was wind polished ice, but there were still patches of snow that held on.

Wind blowing snow across Swan Lake caused sculpted drifts where something was able to capture snow.

Wind packed cold snow did not allow for very deep track impressions.

I spent much of the day sleeping today, still trying to fight off a cold. My brother and I did walk down to the library this afternoon to watch a presentation on pack rafting in Alaska. Winds were pretty stiff coming and going. It was blowing pretty much out of the east, so at our backs on the walk there, but gusting right in our faces on the way back. Combined with temperatures in the teens, it was a chilling walk.

I’ve been paying more attention to snow blowing off the peaks during this recent spell of cold/clear weather, so it was interesting today to see how few peaks could actually be seen. Skies were clear overall, but my guess is that white-out conditions prevailed on most of the higher snow laden peaks. It would be interesting to see the snow sculptures that must have been created with drifts being deposited and carved by the wind.

[Show slideshow]

The Lucky Chance ridges are almost completely obscured by snow blowing off the higher peaks.

Airborne snow driven by strong winds partially obscures the Sisters.

White caps and blowing spray make for rough conditions in Eastern Channel. Seas are somewhat calmer in Crescent Bay.

Not much outside time today – pretty much just my walk over to UAS (and a hurried one, at that).

Temperatures have started dropping again, with the forecast for even colder overnight and tomorrow. Outside of the wind, today’s temperatures weren’t bad, but a breeze that seemed to be variable out of the Southeast (mostly) and East made things seem quite a bit colder. It seemed odd for the wind to be out of the Southeast when that’s more associated with low pressure, clouds and rainy. I suspect it was really more of an East wind, but the topography of the island resulted in the wind getting bent around to come out of the Southeast in the downtown area. It was mostly clear, but there were some high level cirrus clouds as well as some lower clouds that formed around some of the mountains.

On my way across the bridge I noticed a Raven carrying a stick flying from near the fuel dock (where I first saw it, anyway) south under the bridge to where it landed in a tree on Turning Island. I took a brief look, but couldn’t make out a nest or anything where I saw it land, but I did not have time for an extended investigation.

Took a quick afternoon trip up Indian River Valley to swap out ibuttons. It was a clear and chilly day.

[Show slideshow]

Indian River Cascade illuminated by the low-elevation sun of winter.

It's not difficult to tell where the sun doesn't reach in the muskeg this time of year.

This lichen may be Dimerella lutea, but I'm not sure.

Large frost crystalls have built up on the needles of a muskeg shore pine.

I was amused to see this deer close to the trail near the end of deer season. No doubt some hunters would have liked to take this shot.

Last February after a cool calm night, I took a morning walk to Totem Park and was interested to find that most of Crescent Bay was covered in ice. Salt water is supposed to freeze at 26F, and overnight lows probably got a little bit below that, but it was hardly frigid. Temperatures on other occasions have certainly been cooler without the extensive ice on the water that was present on this day.

The ice seemed to extend out beyond the islands called The Twins.

When I arrived at the end of the park, I was able to see the ice extended all the way out to Eastern Channel, though I could not really tell how far out into the channel it went. On the other hand, I discovered that Indian River estuary had no ice in it at all. Given the fact that salt water requires colder temperatures to freeze, this seemed a little strange.

After some thought I decided the key to this mystery must be the calm clear night. I think the there was probably very little movement of surface water in the bay overnight. Clear skies allowed the surface to cool quickly, and since there was little or no mixing (perhaps partially facilitated by a freshwater lens on the surface?), the surface was able to freeze. In principle this would seem little different than making ice in the desert by digging a hole and placing an insulated pan of water in it that is exposed to the night sky. Presumably the reason the river/estuary did not freeze is the water was flowing and the resultant mixing prevented the surface from getting cold enough to form a layer of ice.

Despite the frozen bay, Indian River Estuary was free of ice.

I did not get out too much today, but did walk around campus a little bit to see what I could see.

Weather: It’s still clear and cold, but not quite as cold as it has been. The forecast is for increasing clouds and temperatures tomorrow with highs reaching the 40s by the end of the week. It’s going to get slippery in a hurry if that happens.

Birds: I heard about a dead bird on Westwood Trail, so I went up to check it out. The remains consisted entirely of feathers, but there were a lot of feathers. I think it was the pheasant seen last week, but I do not know what might have killed it.

On my way back, I saw a dipper flying and splashing in the flume near just after where it passes under the street.

There was a Brown Creeper pretty active on the trees near the flume later this afternoon. I got within a couple of feet of it. It seemed to be staying low on the tree trunks it was foraging on. Usually they go up high and I lose sight of them. Another difference in behavior I noticed was that it kept repeatedly using the same tree; moving down on the trunk and then working back up again.

While watching the creeper, I heard a Red-breasted Sapsucker and caught a glimpse of it flying over.

While walking up along the flume, I noticed what I am pretty sure is a bird’s nest fairly high up in a Mt. Ash tree that is barely surviving in the middle of the stand of evergreens near the firepit.

Other Notes: There was a deer track in the snow near the flume (on the trail that runs along the edge up from the bridge by Yaw).

I saw at least a couple of coho salmon in the flume. They were looking pretty dark, but it’s interesting to see that they are still in there this late. I had never really noticed that before.

It’s interesting to see how much less the water in the river has frozen this fall as compared to last March. The air temperatures have not been quite as cold as the 6 day stretch in March, but highs have still been well below freezing. Whereas in March, the surface of the flume water was frozen both above and below the falls. Where the stream tumbles down a brief cascade shortly before it meets up with Indian River, there were sizable ice formations that had formed. During this cold snap, there is just a little bit of ice at the edge of the flume, but very little ice on the surface otherwise. Presumably this is because the river water is still relatively warm from summer. I would not have guessed that it would make that much difference. I may check to see if someone has long term stream temperature data to see how it changes over the year.

I spent most of the day at home, but I did make a short trip over to Alice Island to look for the redpolls. I decided to try the heavier clothes (more layers, actually) that I used yesterday on the scooter. I used the excuse that I wanted to make sure it was not just the clothes that kept me warm yesterday, but really I was just being kind of lazy. I found that I was definitely warmer with the heavier clothes, but still quite chilly compared to bicycling.

Weather: Clear and cold for another day. The wind was out of the east or northeast today. It made for very chilly conditions on the scooter ride back across the bridge.

Birds: Shortly before I left to go to Alice Island, one of the neighbors called to say a bird had hit the window. She was not sure what, if anything, she might be able to do to help it, and wondered if I knew. I told her I usually just set them on a towel someplace protected and they gradually pulled themselves together. She described the bird as gray and yellow, and I could not think of what it might be, so I went over to look at it. It turned out to be a Pine Grosbeak, the first one I have seen in a couple of years. It was a little stunned, but when I reached out to see if it would step into my hand, it flew a short distance. From there it hesitantly moved into the salmonberries, but I figured it would probably be okay.

While I was there, I heard some tapping in the nearby trees. After a few minutes of looking, I was able to spot a Red-breasted Sapsucker working its way up a trunk.

I did not see the redpolls at Alice Island, but once again the Song Sparrows were actively feeding all around the island. Though still active in the cold, I could see that the chilly temperatures were having an effect; they barely seemed to notice my approach in their quest for food, and they kept their feathers rather fluffed up. I suspect the birds are residents, but at other times I have never noticed quite so many of them. As dark colored birds, I guess they do not blend in so well with the leaves off the trees and snow covering the ground.