It's -31 C outside and the river still has open water. Which is the better climate indicator?

Question

I live on the Canadian prairies. The local river normally freezes over by the end of December, but now has ice along the banks and open water in the center. This is the fourth frigid day (<-30 C) this month. The norm for January is 8.6 days below -30 C. What is a better climate indicator, today's temperature or the open water?

Answer 1

I need to know the average velocity of the water, the average width to depth ratio, average bank slope, plus the population density &amp; type of fish in the river to answer your question.

Answer 2

Well, the never failing rule of thumb is if you can&#039;t play hockey on it, it ain&#039;t cold. But I guess this is a river.

Answer 3

the open water - when the air temperature sucks enough heat off it it will freeze - looks like it hasn&#039;t been cold enough long enough for that to happen yet.

Answer 4

Clearly there can be no doubt or disagreement about this issue. You live where it&#039;s to $#%@&amp; cold ;-)

Answer 5

Everyone knows where your going with this...just tell us, it&#039;s never happen before.

Answer 6

Tell us the name of the river so we can investigate for ourselves. I live in the mountains of Virginia, a far warmer environment than where you say you are, and things here are frozen even though -17C is the coldest it has been all year. Do they pour antifreeze in your &quot;local river&quot; ?

Answer 7

Why, the best is obviously the high posters in Yahoo! Answers Environment Section.

Answer 8

By definition, climate isn&#039;t a  river.