It's hard to believe winter is around the corner with the unseasonably warm temperatures the area has been experiencing, but, the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom is being installed.
Crews worked to install the ice boom on the Canadian side Wednesday. There are 22 sections that make up the 1.7 mile ice boom, which must be installed when the water temperature reaches 39 degrees or on December 16, whichever comes first.
The temperature of Lake Erie Wednesday was 46 degrees. The lake has never been this warm on this date since records started being kept almost 90 years ago. The lake temperature was also 46 degrees on this date in 1991 and 1998 according to the National Weather Service.
"Basically what the ice boom does it helps promote the natural ice bridge that will occur in any given year so with that with it allowing it to stabilize the ice bridge it reduces the amount of ice that goes down the Niagara River which also reduces ice jamming and potential flooding," said Keith Koralewski, U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers.
It also stops ice from clogging the river and water intakes for the two hydroelectric power plants near Niagara Falls. The ice boom will finally be removed for the season April 1 or when there is less than 250 square miles of ice on Lake Erie.