January 27, 2003, Washington D.C.- A recent spell of cold temperatures in the northeastern U.S., including the Washington D.C. area, precipitated the issuance of the first Chesapeake and Delaware Bay ice analyses since the winter of 2000. On Wednesday, January 22, 2003, Mr. Craig Evanego - a NIC Senior Ice Analyst/Forecaster, reported that there had been significant ice growth in the upper portion of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, as well as in the Potomac River and C & D Canal. Mr. Evanego contacted the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Groups Philadelphia and Baltimore to inform them that the first ice charts of the season were available on the NIC website. The USCG requested the NIC Ice Reconnaissance Team to conduct ice reconnaissance missions of the Chesapeake Bay. On January 24-26, 2003, Aerographer's Mates First Class (AG1) Paul McKenna and Odis Fields - NIC Ice Analysts/ Reconnaissance Team members, flew with the USCG Air Auxiliary from Lee Airport and collected valuable ice analysis data. The collected data was incorporated into updated ice charts of the Chesapeake Bay released through January 27 (Figures 1 and 2) and was also transmitted to USCG Activities Baltimore. The NIC will issue the next analyses of these areas on January 29, 2003. These analyses can be found on the internet at: www.natice.noaa.gov/greatlakes.htm.

All NIC regional ice analyses are derived from near real-time integration of remotely sensed and in-situ oceanographic/meteorological observations. These analyses are produced following standard analysis procedures which optimize the use of data that vary widely in availability, scale, and resolution. These operational data sources can be grouped into the following categories: satellite-derived data, aerial ice reconnaissance, ship/shore stations observations, drifting buoy reports, meteorological guidance products, ice prediction model output, climatology and sea ice information obtained from international partners such as foreign ice services.

The NIC is a tri-agency operational center represented by the United States Navy (Department of Defense); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce); and the United States Coast Guard (Department of Homeland Security). The NIC mission is to provide world-wide operational ice analyses for the armed forces of the United States and allied nations, U.S. government agencies, and the private sector.

For more information, please contact:
National Ice Center
Naval Ice Center
Command Duty Officer
voice: 301-394-3100
e-mail: liaison@natice.noaa.gov