Analysis of Ice Jams and Their Meteorological Indicators for Three Winters on the Ottauquechee River, Vermont

Meteorological data are presented for nearby National Weather Service Co-Operative Stations as well as for CRREL sites on the Ottauquechee River. The severity of each winter is discussed, as are the effects of a heavy rainfall on a high water-equivalent snow cover. The resultant runoff and subsequent ice jamming that occurs is discussed. Continuous monitoring of water temperature before, during and immediately after an ice cover formed on the river during the winter of 1977-78 is included. The report includes a section on warm sewer outfall effects on the ice at and below a municipal treatment plant. Retrieved data will assist in future modeling studies to help predict ice formation, growth, decay and jamming of river ice covers.