Overview
- Landsat 8’s Operational Land Imager captured a Jan. 28 false-color view that highlighted extensive ice in the Hudson, with smaller amounts in the East River and Central Park’s reservoir.
- Temperatures dropped below freezing on Jan. 24 and stayed there for more than a week, reaching only 23°F (-5°C) on Jan. 28.
- NYC Ferry suspended services for several days after ice accumulated along Manhattan’s western shore.
- Experts note much of the ice likely drifted from calmer, less saline reaches upriver, and a full freeze near Manhattan remains unlikely, last occurring in 1888.
- Scientists and agencies are expanding use of synthetic aperture radar and hyperspectral sensors to track ice as the National Weather Service forecasts lingering below-average temperatures with another Arctic surge this weekend.