NORTH BAY -- A combination of high winds and lake water shifting has pushed massive blocks of ice up onto the Lake Nipissing shoreline and municipal wharf.
This spring phenomenon is sometimes referred to as 'shoreline ice build up.' They usually make for some spectacular photos.
The North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority said when the weather starts to warm, the temperature weakens deteriorating ice so much that it can be blown by the wind onto the shoreline.
"Lake Nipissing is a very long lake and particularly from east to west,” said conservation authority water resources engineer Kurtis Romanchuk. “So there's a long distance that the wind can blow across. That wind can exert significance force on the ice."
It’s also a sign that summer is approaching. The conversation authority expects more ice to be blown onto the shoreline in the next few days.
“Looking at the forecast, there are some continually westerly or southwesterly winds. There’s some potential for more continued ice build up,” said Romanchuk.
He said where the ice ends up on the lake’s shore depends on which way the wind blows.
“As the ice moves up on the shore, it starts to break apart and forms that pile,” said Romanchuk. “This has happened the last three years that I have been here.”
The conservation authority is asking the public not to climb the ice piles because they are weak and could be unstable.
