Tom Norton sent along this photo at the end of December, with the following note: “Today my wife and I were walking near the Ompompanoosuc River in Thetford, Vermont, and were surprised to see pieces of plate ice, about half an inch thick and perfectly horizontal, attached to numerous tree trunks high above the ground.” How did they get there?
Answer
The river flooded during a thaw/rain event, the temperature dropped, and a thin layer of ice formed before the water level receded. The ice stuck to the tree at that level. Tom Norton reports that the height of the ice is all the more impressive because the base of that tree is more than 30 feet above the normal river level. “The key is that this location is not only near the river but also not far upstream of the Union Village flood control dam, which must have held back an enormous volume of water after the late-December thaw/rain events,” he said.
This week’s contest winner was Alan Lane