Ice breakers have been called into service, both on the Great Lakes and on the path around the Falls.
On the Great Lakes they will be busy as the shipping season gets under way. The near-record ice cover on lakes Superior and Michigan, due to the polar vortex or an overly aggressive Old Man Winter, will mean that ice breakers have their work cut out for them, no pun intended.
Due to an improving economy, the total tonnage coming into Green Bay was up this past season, compared to a year ago. Perhaps one of the more critical commodities shipped was road salt. Even with that high volume, supplies are running low in some locations, prompting the road crews to use a salt/sand mix. Given depleted inventories, salt will be a high volume commodity this shipping season.
The quicker they can start moving cargo, the better off they will be. Ice breakers will be a key.
Ice breakers of a different sort were called upon over the weekend as the warmer weather returned to the area. Many drives and garage aprons that this observer uses had layers of ice buildup. The nice weather was an excuse to chip away at the ice and promote even faster melting. Mother Nature and solar heating could do the trick, but patience with winter conditions is nearly exhausted.
While ice chipping is not a major construction project, being able to encourage the melting and ease the flow of water off the apron can be quite satisfying. Solar heating can only do so much, and with frequent below-zero temperatures, there was much less effect on the layers of ice and piles of snow. Those inventories are high right now but should slowly settle away with additional hours of daylight and warmer weather.
Monday’s start to the work week with the return of daylight saving time meant a darker morning commute, but the cloudless sky helped brighten the day.
Bright days will help to reduce that inventory of snow and ice, but as both Aristotle and Ben Franklin were given credit for advising, we hope for “All things in moderation.”
Media coverage suggested that a quick thaw of the snow and ice could result in flooding problems. That risk could be compounded by the deep frost, which would result in more run-off than saturation into the soil, and the thicker ice layers on rivers. Snow-melt waters might head downstream over the layers of ice. Another fear is that when the breakup occurs, the higher volume of ice and swifter current might result in ice dams, which would cause flooding upstream.
What will occur is anyone’s guess. Speculation is rampant, with little that can be done to impact what happens.
One exception to that wait-and-see attitude is at Oconto Falls High School, where the inaugural season will open for the two softball fields just to the north of the school parking lot. Practice begins next week.
While much of the early practice can be indoors, the sooner the teams can get out on the grass, the better. To help with opening the fields, an excessive amount of snow wasn’t piled on the space directly above the fields. Last week a fair amount of the remaining snow that had been piled there was moved. The strategy was to reduce the drainage of snow-melt water for this first season of play.
Construction of the field included a design for good water management with soil makeup and topographic elevation, but this spring will be the first real test. The design of the complex also called for a concession/restroom facility and two new scoreboards.
Time got away from the contractors, not to mention the early close to the construction season due to the weather. As a result, temporary structures will be used for this inaugural season. Even so, when spring finally arrives and that first ball is thrown out, it will be a great day. A simple ceremony or two are in the works for the first use of the new fields, but details are still being worked out.
Given the size of the piles of snow next to the high school, there might even be a few snowballs tossed on the day of the first game. That would be a real ice breaker to start the chatter of the fans in the stands.
Categories
